Organized 1885 Official Organ of the Sailors' Union of the Pacific Volume LXXI No. 9 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Friday, September 19, 2008 McCain and the economy Problems with TWIC outlined at ohn McCain spent Septem- Bush years and as a result, Jber 15 claiming, as he had American workers have taken a House Sub-committee hearing countless times before, that beating. the economy was fundamentally In clarifying his comments, t the request of the mari- Martin should specifically tailor obtain TWICs. TSA and sound. Had he missed the col- Senator McCain lavished praise time Unions SUP, communications for workers Lockheed Martin should make lapse of Lehman Brothers or the A on workers, but ignored their MM&P, MEBA, ILA with criminal records, explain translations of vital documents sale of Merrill Lynch, which problems. That is the real insult. and ILWU affiliated with the what the disqualification are, available and hire bilingual staff were announced the day before? For decades, typical Ameri- AFL-CIOs Transportation assure workers with criminal or use a language interpretation Did he not notice the agonies of cans have not been rewarded for Trades Department (TTD) Laura records that they qualify, and telephone service at the enroll- the American Insurance Group? their increasing productivity with Moskowitz, staff attorney for the encourage them to utilize the ment centers and Help Desk. Was he unaware of the impend- comparably higher pay or better Oakland, California-based Na- TWIC waiver process. On behalf of the TTD Unions, ing layoffs of tens of thousands benefits. The disconnect be- tional Employment Law Project, · Due to inadequate screening, Ms. Moskowitz made the fol- of Wall Street employees on top tween work and reward has been testified on September 17 before TSA is disqualifying large num- lowing recommendations to the of the growing numbers of un- especially acute during the Bush the House Committee on Home- bers of workers whose criminal Committee: employed workers throughout years, as workers incomes fell land Securitys Subcommittee on records do not make them ineli- TSA and Lockheed Martin the United States? while corporate profits, which Border, Maritime and gible, in violation of the stan- should specifically tailor com- Counterterrorism chaired by The following day, he clari- flow to investors and company dards under the Maritime Trans- munications for workers with Representative Loretta Sanchez fied his remarks. The clarifica- executives, ballooned. For portation Security Act (MTSA). criminal records, explain what (D-California). tion was far more worrisome workers, that is a fundamental Before issuing an initial denial, the disqualifications are, assure than his initial comments. flaw in todays economy. It is Excerpts from Ms. TSA should marshal its resources workers with criminal records He said that by calling the grounded in policies like a Moskowitzs testimony follow: to track down missing informa- that they qualify for TWICs, and economy fundamentally sound, chronically inadequate minimum As the Transportation Worker tion that is critical to the deter- encourage them to utilize the what he really meant was that wage and an increasingly unpro- Identification Credential (TWIC) mination that someone has a dis- waiver process. qualifying felony conviction. American workers are the best in gressive tax system, for which program nears its one-year mark Before issuing an initial de- the world. He implied that if you McCain offers no alternatives. next month and the final com- · TSA is denying TWICs to nial, TSA should marshal its pliance date is only six months large numbers of foreign-born dispute his statement about the As for Wall Street, McCain resources to track down miss- away, it is not too late for Trans- U.S. citizens and other qualified economys firm foundation, you blamed the meltdown on un- ing information that is critical portation Security Administra- workers due to poor training by are, in effect, insulting American bridled corruption and greed. to the determination that some- tion (TSA) and Lockheed Mar- Lockheed Martin of its Trusted workers. I believe in American He called for a commission to one has a disqualifying felony tin to prioritize some key fixes Agents and poor communica- workers, and someone who dis- conviction. find out what happened and pro- that will become critical as the tion with applicants regarding agrees with that - its fine. Lockheed Martin must more pose solutions. His diagnosis compliance date nears and the necessary citizenship and immi- First, no one who is currently and his cure are misguided. The effectively train its Trusted number of applications grows. gration documents. Lockheed Agents to accept the necessary running for president does not crisis on Wall Street is funda- Our testimony focuses on the fol- Martin must more effectively believe in American workers. mentally a failure to do the documents during enrollment, lowing major problems facing train its Trusted Agents to ac- and TSA must take more proac- More to the point, the things that temper, detect and TWIC applicants and key rec- cept the necessary documents punish corruption and greed. It tive steps to ensure that docu- economy is stressed to the break- ommendations for improvement. during enrollment, and TSA ments needed by foreign-born was a failure to police the mar- ing point by fundamental prob- · Poor outreach and commu- must take far more proactive applicants are brought to the kets, to enforce rules, to heed lems in housing, finance, nication by TSA and Lockheed steps to ensure that documents enrollment center and properly and sound warnings and expose credit, employment, health care Martin have resulted in work- needed by foreign-born appli- scanned and sent to TSA. and the federal budget that questionable products and prac- cants are brought to the enroll- ers failing to apply for TWICs, TSA and Lockheed Martin have been at best neglected, at tices. In short, the Wall Street ment center and sent to TSA. including large numbers of eli- should make translations of vi- worst exacerbated during the crisis is capitalism run-a-muck. gible workers with criminal · TSA and Lockheed Martin tal documents available and hire In the wake of McCains re- records, which has contributed have not provided language-ap- bilingual staff or use a language marks, AFL-CIO President John to low enrollment. To maximize propriate services to the ports interpretation telephone service Sweeney stated: The record is enrollment on the part of eligible diverse immigrant workforce, at the enrollment centers and clear. John McCain has voted workers, TSA and Lockheed thus hindering their ability to Help Desk. repeatedly for the same policies that brought us the financial ca- Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA (USPS 675-180) tastrophe, and he is surrounded Senator Obama on the financial crisis by the architects of financial de- The era of greed and irrespon- sector so capital is flowing again ers some or most of its invest- regulation. Former Senator Phil sibility on Wall Street and in and we can avert an even ment over time, this initial out- Gramm, an early campaign ad- Washington has led to a finan- broader economic catastrophe. lay of up to $700 billion is so- visor whom McCain has de- cial crisis as profound as any we We also should recognize that bering. And in return for their scribed as more respected on have faced since the Great De- economic recovery requires that support, the American people economics than anyone else in pression. we act, not just to address the must be assured that the deal America, was the chief sponsor crisis on Wall Street, but also reflects some basic principles. of legislation that deregulated But regardless of how we got the crisis on Main Street and No blank check. If we grant the banking sector, legalizing here, the circumstances we face around kitchen tables across the Treasury broad authority to the risky investment practices require decisive action because America. address the immediate crisis, we that are at the root of the cur- the jobs, savings, and economic must insist on independent ac- rent crisis. This year Gramm has security of millions of Ameri- But thus far, the Administra- countability and oversight. belittled working people who are cans are now at risk. tion has only offered a concept Given the breach of trust we struggling in the economic cri- We must work quickly in a with a staggering price tag, not bipartisan fashion to resolve this a plan. have seen and the magnitude of continued on page 2 crisis and restore our financial Even if the Treasury recov- continued on page 3 New APL Wage Scales: Page 11 ESU News: Pages 6 & 7 Page 2 WEST COAST SAILORS Friday, September 19, 2008 Platforms show sharp difference SUP Honor Roll between Democrats and Republicans Voluntary contributions from the membership to the following funds: In the wake of the Democratic party efficient cars and communications tech- and Republican party conventions, both nology. Organization/ West Coast parties platforms are now available, and · Preventing privatization of jobs and they illuminate key differences as the misclassification of workers. election approaches. General Fund Sailors The Republican platform touches on When Senator John McCain accepted Abraham Acosta .............. 20.00 Albert Abramson ............. 20.00 few, if any, of these issues. Only seven the Republican nomination on Septem- of the platforms 60 pages focus on the Knud Andersen............... 100.00 Abraham Acosta .............. 20.00 ber 4, he signed on to a platform that economy. With somewhat veiled and Joseph Bracken................ 25.00 Isnin Idris....................... 50.00 tilts far away from working families and very misleading language, it opposes the Gunnar Lundeberg ........... 50.00 Gunther Brummer............ 30.00 toward the corporate interests that have Employee Free Choice Act. The platform Jason Magi ....................