The SIU Executive Board has unanimously approved Joe Vincenzo as the union’s vice president for the Government Services Division, and Sam Spain as the assistant vice president for that sector. The board convened June 12 in Piney Point, Maryland.
These moves happened in the aftermath of the untimely passing of SIU Vice President Government Services Nicholas Celona.
![Photo of Joe Vincenzo](https://www.seafarers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/JulyJoe1-191x300.jpg)
“Both Joe and Sam have my complete confidence,” said SIU President David Heindel. “They have long, solid records of outstanding service to the membership and they are the right people for these jobs.”
Vincenzo is a U.S. Army veteran who first sailed with the SIU in 1991 as an engine-department member. He last sailed in 2003 as a QMED aboard the USNS 1st Lt Jack Lummus.
Vincenzo has since served the union in various capacities including patrolman from 2003 to 2007 and Tacoma port agent from 2007 through 2019.
He became the assistant vice president of the Government Services Division in 2019 and had remained in that slot, representing civilian mariners in the federal sector including the Military Sealift Command, NOAA, the Army Corp of Engineers and the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
Additionally, Vincenzo served as the UIW Alaska Region Representative, representing seafood process workers and fisheries observers. He also served as president of the South Puget Sound Port Council for four years.
He said the highlight of his 30-plus years with the SIU was his service to the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in the capacity of oiler during the 50-year commemoration of D-Day, when the historic ship led the parade of vessels back to the beaches of Normandy in 1994.
In 2007, Vincenzo spearheaded Tacoma’s philanthropic outreach partnering first with the United States Marine Corps and Toys for Tots and then with Joint Base Lewis McChord-based Santa’s Castle, a 501(c)(3) benefitting lower enlisted military personnel.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts.
Vincenzo stated, “It is an honor and privilege to serve this great union of ours and its members in my new capacity as vice president of Government Services. I’m grateful for this opportunity to continue to work with a dedicated team of trade unionists, all of us, towards improved conditions of employment and work-life balance on behalf of our mariners.”
He continued, “My time in the government sector began almost as soon as I came ashore in 2003, servicing NOAA, Army Corps of Engineers and MSC equipment and working with then-Vice President Kermett Mangram and his team. Early on, I participated in a number of arbitrations that centered on substandard habitability and I was able to be of service on a number of weighty issues ranging from health and safety to, again, habitability. I was also assigned to work with then-Fleet Representative Kate Hunt on the NOAA collective bargaining agreement, which needed a major overhaul. Later, as assistant vice president to then-Vice President Kate Hunt, I worked closely with her and representatives from our sister unions on resolving the unprecedented issues that we all faced during the pandemic years, not least of which was the ‘Gangways Up’ order that restricted mariners to their various ships for the better part of one year.”
He concluded, “As vice president, I will continue the work of my predecessors including our late, beloved brother and friend, Nicholas Celona by seeking out every opportunity to partner with various government agencies wherever and whenever possible to advance the interests of our mariners’ lives at sea. Mariners and CIVMARS in particular are a special breed, enduring prolonged periods away from home under the harshest conditions imaginable, serving the interests of our national, economic and homeland security. I thank President Heindel and the entire executive board for their vote of confidence and I will work hard every day to show it.”
![Photo of Sam Spain](https://www.seafarers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SamSpainP2-273x300.jpg)
Spain joined the SIU in 1990. He sailed for a dozen years, most recently as a chief steward, before coming ashore to work as a union representative. Spain has always been based in Norfolk, Virginia, and will remain so.
“I took up the challenge of being a union representative because I knew I wanted to make a difference for the SIU and for unlicensed merchant seamen,” Spain said. “I’ve looked to continue giving CIVMARS the same high level of representation as past officials and that is certainly my plan moving forward. We also always want to build on the relationship between the SIU and the Military Sealift Command.”
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