The following news release was issued by the Maritime Administration on April 26. Maritime Administration Awards Nearly $20 Million in Funding to Strengthen U.S. Shipyard Economic Competitiveness Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 31 small shipyards in 15 states through the Small Shipyard…
Apr
26
Apr
26
The following news release was issued by the White House on April 26. FACT SHEET: Executive Order Establishing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment Today, President Biden will sign an Executive Order establishing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The Task Force…
Apr
22
UPDATE (April 26): Members and their families can register for the May 3 event HERE. Seafarers and their family members who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 are invited to the hiring hall in Houston for a free vaccination drive on May 3 (a Monday) from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.…
Apr
21
The International Federation of Transport Workers (ITF), to which the SIU is affiliated, issued the following news release on April 20. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel is quoted in the article. ITF confirms Ever Given crew welfare, but Egypt cannot hold Suez seafarers hostage Crew of the…
Apr
20
Notice/Reminders Pre-Employment Drug Tests are Reported to Coast Guard; Marijuana Still Banned by Department of Transportation Seafarers are reminded that the U.S. Department of Transportation forbids the use of marijuana by employees subject to drug testing under DOT regulations. Even if marijuana use is legal in your home state, it…
Apr
17
The SIU remains active in a project that involves delivering school books for children in Puerto Rico, Guam and Alaska. For more background on the program, click HERE. Below is a new press release from the Transportation Institute about recent outreach; SIU Port Agent Amancio Crespo is quoted in the…
Apr
15
From the Economic Policy Institute: Statement • By Celine McNicholas • The results of the election at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, reveal a broken union election system. It is clear that if policymakers do not reform our nation’s labor law system, then they are effectively denying workers…
Apr
09
The following statement is from the International Transport Workers' Federation, to which the SIU is affiliated. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, quoted in the statement, serves as chair if the ITF Seafarers' Section. ITF Statement on second postponement of International Bargaining Forum negotiations Maritime employers in the International Bargaining Forum (IBF)…
Apr
09
From the AFL-CIO, to which the SIU is affiliated: Blasting Amazon’s Anti-Worker Attacks, Labor Movement Urges PRO Act Passage Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the union vote at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama: The heroic Amazon workers in Bessemer have made history, helping pave the path toward…
Apr
08
Bosun Rodriguez: Piney Point Training ‘Definitely Helped’ How’s this for a sign of the times: Mariners from the SIU-crewed cable ship Dependable on March 21 rescued a boater in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – and the individual quickly reassured his liberators that he’d recently tested negative for COVID-19.…