By Willie Barrere
National President
On April 30, the reintroduction of the SHIPS for America Act was announced in Washington DC. AMO was there and we were not alone. The events of the day were well attended by members and representatives of labor and industry from all aspects of the American maritime trades.
This monumental bill was first introduced last fall with bipartisan sponsorship. The original sponsors included then-Senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then-Congressman and now nominee for UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, Senator Mark Kelly, and Congressman John Garamendi. With the appointments of Rubio and Waltz to national cabinet positions, two new sponsors signed onto the legislation. Along with Senator Kelly and Congressman Garamendi, Senator Todd Young and Congressman Trent Kelly cosponsored the current version of the legislation that was just announced prior to being submitted to Congress.
Because there is a new Congress after last November’s elections, the bill had to be reintroduced for the current session. Changes were made to the bill since its original introduction. Various entities were given copies of the new bill in mid-April. Since then, numerous emails and conversations were held involving various maritime unions, the United Steelworkers, and others. There has been a collective effort among the union presidents and our staffs to try to get amicable provisions that will benefit and support all in our industry as we go forward.
Cargo is key. It is a fact of life in our maritime world. Without cargo, there is no point in building commercial ships. We have all worked together with patience to help create a foundation that will go a long way toward supporting our maritime industry and our nation.
We all have to work together with persistence to support it. This is a rare opportunity in our country’s history – the first since the last world war – to build up our fleet and launch an era of growth in the American maritime industry. As the first superpower to have a larger navy than a merchant marine, we have work to do and we need support from the pro-maritime America-first Trump administration. The shipbuilding executive order signed by the President is a powerful first step. The SHIPS for America Act is the legislative follow-up we need.
What we can do and what we are doing
Recruiting and more recruiting. The academies are starting to graduate for this year and we are looking forward to a large increase in applications for membership in AMO. We have new ships and more ships coming and we need the people.
Talk AMO up and see who is interested in sailing with us. Got friends looking for some jobs? Put them on notice that we will be bringing in some new work over the next few months and have excellent jobs and room for new officers.
The pass-through agreement – this temporary solution to the manning shortage has been very successful. AMO has been able to help out both MEBA and MM&P, and likewise, they are helping us out to keep our ships sailing. There have been over 100 mariners who have sailed on vessels from other unions at this point.
Upgrade your license – if you are thinking about upgrading, now is the time. If you need upgrade classes or other training, reach out to STAR Center. If the class you want on the date you want is already full, it doesn’t always mean you can’t get in – submit a course application on the STAR Center website. There is an actively managed wait list. Stay in touch and get what you need to take the next step in your career.
Update your credentials – all AMO members need to ensure their official documents are up to date and uploaded to the union and display as current in their member profiles. This allows dispatchers and AMO officials to give our companies accurate information on how many qualified mariners are available and ready to sail. With a proper head count, it makes it a lot easier to tell new prospective companies seeking to sign a contract and hire AMO officers whether or not we have the ability to man their fleets.
I was recently frustrated with having to turn business away. We have sent a notice to all members to update their documents on file and are working with companies to make sure members can safely upload their files from the ship using onboard Internet.
Also, please keep up to date with dues and initiation payments.
New work opportunities
AMO has crewed up and is operating the Crowley LNG carrier American Energy and the ship is in service.
As was recently announced, in conjunction with Schuyler Lines, the tanker SL Hawaii will be operated under AMO contract for service in the Tanker Security Program. This will be the tenth tanker in the first allotment of 10 TSP vessels. We anticipate Congress will appropriate funding for 10 more ships in the TSP fleet in the near future.
Crowley, through a joint venture with ESVAGT, a European leader in maritime wind farm services, is building a U.S.-flagged Service Operations Vessel (SOV). The SOV will serve the wind farm market on the East Coast. The SOV will house offshore wind turbine technicians as well as safely transport technician crews to wind turbines for maintenance and repairs. AMO is the first officer union in the U.S. contracted to crew an offshore wind farm vessel.
We also have multiple non-disclosure agreements for more work. They cover a wide range of opportunities. We are making announcements when we can and as the process for each project develops.
An amazing crew
An update about Stena Immaculate – right now the salvage team and Crowley are surveying the vessel to determine the plausibility of repairing the Immaculate. There are a lot of factors that will contribute to this decision. Presently, Crowley and Stena are making plans to bring in a replacement vessel for the Immaculate’s TSP slot. No matter which path is decided for the Stena Immaculate, it will take some time. We look forward to welcoming in the new vessel when it is ready.
Reflecting back on a few days in Grimsby, I am so appreciative of the professionalism of the officers and crew, their brave response to a terrible catastrophe, their camaraderie on display at the dinner with Crowley the last night there, and for all from the vessel making it safely home. Thank you all!
Some other topics
John Hancock recently went live as our Record Keeper for the AMO Plans retirement accounts. Their app is up and running and so far everything seems to be operating well. There is one bit of confusion – for those who have a 401(k) loan, on your statement/app, it will show “American Maritime JHTC” (and your name). This is your monthly loan payment. It used to say “Matrix” on the statement.
BMI Coordination of Benefits audit – this has essentially closed, although it is not completed. There are still a few members AMO Plans is trying to contact. The trustees were updated this week at our Executive Board and AMO Plans Trustees meetings and we will put something out once everything has been completed.
All in all, things are looking up. The ship count is up, the membership is up, and wages are up. Together, we’ll keep this trend going.