AMO needs to work together, at sea and ashore

AMO needs to work together, at sea and ashore

Independent review finds union in good condition, moving ahead in positive direction

By Dave Weathers
National Executive Board Member

The AMO port office in Houston has been closed. I will be servicing vessels calling in the Gulf of Mexico area. This will produce a significant cost savings for AMO. Any members with questions or comments can contact me, either at (800) 362-0513 ext. 2001, mobile phone (409) 996-7362 or by e-mail at dweathers@amo-union.org. Officers aboard vessels calling in the Gulf area are encouraged to notify me of the docks to which they are heading. I look forward to assisting members living in the Gulf area while they are ashore.

I am one of the new members of the National Executive Board. My presence here indicates our electoral system works.

Once I was in office, I did some checking on the election process for our most recent election. I have become convinced the process was sound and fair, given the difficulties of staying in touch with a membership that is flung wide around the world, both ashore and afloat. I talked with the AMO staff members who mailed the ballots, the AMO members who witnessed the tallying of the votes, the impartial administrator, Mr. Hank Murray, who oversaw the whole process, the second impartial administrator, and the bank manager at the depository bank to which the ballots were mailed by members.

Every indication I received was that, at every step of the way, the balloting itself was handled professionally and correctly. For example, the bank manager or his assistant were the only people who handled the ballots when mailed in--they were logged in by number, placed in the specific safety box for our ballots, and behind a massive time-locked safe door from 1700 until 0830 the next morning. The AMO or AMO Plans did not have money in the bank before the election or now--the bank manager actually told me he had taken on the role of the depository for very low compensation in hope of getting some other business from the AMO.

I also talked with the AMO comptroller, Mr. Marty Epstein, regarding the union's finances (Marty is in charge of AMO's money, working closely with our elected Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. JosŽ Leonard). The union's finances are in good order and have gotten better with the removal of the employees only on the payroll due to their connection to the McKay family. As Tom Bethel, our National President, stated: "Anyone who wants to work for the AMO will actually have to work for the AMO." The union's finances are audited semi-annually by Buchbinder & Tunick, an accounting firm that has a lot of experience in auditing labor organizations. Their reports are available for members to review at the Dania Beach AMO Headquarters. Mr. Epstein and his accounting staff work hard and conscientiously taking care of our money, and I appreciate their efforts after seeing a little of the good job they do.

Mr. Steve Nickerson, executive director of AMO Plans, and I had a similar discussion, and the Plans are also in good condition. Outside auditors check the Plans periodically, and these reports are also available for the members to examine. My overwhelming impression of Mr. Nickerson and his staff is that they always work for the best interest of the members, getting us the best benefits they can with the funds they have.

The Plans and the union were thoroughly investigated during the six-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Justice. Government investigators looked at approximately 5 million documents during their investigation and could not find problems other than those we know about. While I am certainly not an accountant, only a sea-going engineer whose fellow members were gracious enough to elect, I believe that our money is in good hands and well taken care of on our behalf.

The union is moving ahead in a positive direction, but we face difficult challenges on a daily basis. The business of keeping and getting more and better jobs, and of running the union in a professional manner for the good of the members, requires a lot of dedicated labor by everyone who works for the AMO. Our new leadership is a mix of experienced men and some new ones, such as me. Everyone seems excited to be moving into a whole new era for the AMO, building from the good practices of our past and leaving the bad ones behind.

Everything Tom Bethel has told me personally he would do, he has done. I believe he provides experienced leadership and is absolutely committed to a better and more transparent AMO. Throughout my 20 years in the AMO, I knew we had a lot of good people working for the union on our behalf-- the union and the Plans have unquestionably helped the members do well for themselves and their families. The union isn't perfect now and it may never be, but we are certainly better than we were in the recent past and will only continue to improve.

I encourage any member who has any comments or questions to contact me regarding any of this or any other matter. The AMO needs to work together to move ahead, both at sea and ashore. I am looking forward to doing so.

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