AMO maintains jobs aboard former Bethlehem Steel ships

AMO maintains jobs aboard former Bethlehem Steel ships

American Maritime Officers will continue to represent the engineers, mates and stewards on two U.S.-flagged Great Lakes bulk carriers transferred to domestic operators by a foreign steel producer.

The self-unloading vessels are the 1,000-foot-long Burns Harbor and the slightly smaller Stewart J. Cort, the last ships in a fleet once owned and operated under AMO contract by the bankrupt Bethlehem Steel Corp. Bethlehem was a casualty of a six-year surge in unfairly traded steel imports in U.S. markets.

In 2003, Bethlehem Steel and its remaining assets--including the Burns Harbor and the Stewart J. Cort--were acquired with federal court approval by International Steel Group, or ISG. The Burns Harbor and Stewart J. Cort remained in lakes service under ISG management and AMO contract.

In April 2005, ISG was acquired by Mittal Steel Co., an Indian-owned firm based in the Netherlands. The acquisition--which made Mittal the world's largest steel producer--did not affect service by the Burns Harbor or Stewart J. Cort, which continued to operate under AMO contract. The ships carry pelletized iron ore (taconite) for Mittal, which operates in 14 countries on four continents.

Under an agreement reached in June 2005, the Burns Harbor was transferred to the American Steamship Co. fleet, one of the largest on the lakes. American Steamship is a longtime employer of AMO engineers, mates and stewards.

A separate agreement concluded in June shifted the Stewart J. Cort to the Interlake Steamship Co. fleet. Interlake--which operates seven additional Great Lakes bulk carriers--had a collective bargaining agreement with AMO until July 2003, when the company signed a still-controversial contract with the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association. The Stewart J. Cort, however, will remain under AMO contract.

The agreements governing operation of the Burns Harbor and Stewart J. Cort were necessary to comply with the Jones Act. Enacted in 1920, the Jones Act restricts all waterborne commerce between and among U.S. ports to merchant vessels owned, built, flagged and manned in the U.S. A Mittal statement said both agreements had been approved by the Maritime Administration in the Department of Transportation.

"The Burns Harbor and Stewart J. Cort provide good jobs for AMO members in all vessel departments, and they represent significant employer contributions to the AMO Pension, Vacation, Medical and Safety and Education Plans," said AMO National Vice President (Great Lakes) Daniel L. Smith. "These vessels are an important part of our union's history on the lakes, and they were part of what for years had been the second largest Great Lakes bulk fleet under the U.S. flag. Under these agreements, the Burns Harbor and Stewart J. Cort will remain in the industry's best professional hands--the engineers, mates and stewards of AMO."

Smith said the agreement under which AMO members will remain aboard the Stewart J. Cort "brought special satisfaction." The engineers, mates and stewards on the Cort "are working under a contract far superior to the cut-rate, collusive MEBA contract in force--literally--on the seven other vessels in the Interlake fleet," he explained.

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