Protecting the Jones Act is Rallying Call at MM&P Convention

It is imperative that everyone who works in the U.S.-flag maritime industry mobilize behind Sen. Barack Obama in the November 2008 elections, agreed speakers and delegates at the 82nd MM&P Convention.

"Everything is on the line: your jobs, your benefits, your health care and your pension," Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), told the crowd. "We've got about five months to make sure that everyone understands that John McCain is the principal author of every legislative effort to destroy the American Merchant Marine and this union."

"Some of us may be Republicans and may have supported Republican administrations in the past," agreed Seafarers International Union President Mike Sacco, "but charity begins at home and we have to look at our own bread and butter. This time around, the issues are monumental. Everything is on the table."

"John McCain has consistently voted to roll back the cargo preference laws," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who spoke to the delegates on Tuesday. "McCain says the Jones Act has a negative effect on the American consumer. He wants to use the tax code to destroy the employer-based health care system in our country."

McCain "lost his bearings somewhere along the way and sailed over the edge," Sweeney said, citing statistics compiled by the AFL-CIO that show the stark contrast between the two candidates: Obama has voted in support of America's working families 98 percent of the time; McCain has voted in support of working families only 16 percent of the time.

"Get out and vote, and tell all your friends and family members to vote," Sacco urged the crowd. "This election is so important that it could determine whether the labor movement in this country will survive or not."

Other speakers at the convention focused on the importance of maritime union solidarity. Among them were American Maritime Officers President Tom Bethel, ILA President Richie Hughes, ILA-Atlantic Coast District President Stephen Knott, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association President Don Keefe and Ron Dejuliis, commissioner of labor and industry for the State of Maryland's Department of Labor and Licensing and Regulation.

Nominations for MM&P elected officials were held on June 25. Ten of the 40 resolutions submitted were approved in committee and passed by the delegates. The delegates also elected the members of the International Ballot Committee who will supervise the upcoming union election: Art Thomas, Dave Goff, Paul Nielsen, Bob Darley and William Wilson. The five alternates are: Mary Matlock, Hal Rosenberg, Joe Byrne, Eric Quick and Judy Arbogast. The delegates selected True Ballot Inc. to serve once again as the impartial balloting agency for the election.

MarEx readers can find out more about what Barack Obama and John McCain have said about the Jones Act by going to http://www.bridgedeck.org and clicking on "What's New." The information is listed under "U.S. Presidential Candidates Speak Out on the Jones Act, Cargo Preference and the Maritime Security Program."