Organized 1885 Official Organ of the Sailors' Union of the Pacific Volume LXVII No. 10 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Friday, October 22, 2004 John Kerry for President MarAd receives MSP he American Union extend affordable health care to the Bush administration has applications APL and T movement is united and 95 percent of Americans so they turned a record budget surplus mobilized to elect John get the same coverage as mem- projected at $1.3 trillion for Matson apply for slots Kerry, President of the United bers of Congress. Health experts 2001-2004, into a record bud- States, and his running mate John have asserted that Kerrys plan get deficit. Bushs tax cuts were Edwards, Vice President. s of the October 15, Matson Navigation Company deadline for submitting applied for operating agreements Throughout his 18-year A for three handy-sized, self-sus- applications to the Senate career, Kerry has Maritime Administration for taining ships. It is expected that voted for labors position 91 participation in the new Mari- these vessels will be used in the percent of the time. time Security Program, 25 com- companys Guam service. For Kerry supports workers panies have submitted applica- more information, see the right to organize and have tions for 142 vessels to be en- Presidents Report on page 9. card-check recognition in or- rolled, although only 60 ships In addition to APL and ganizing drives. He opposes are authorized under the en- Matson, the other companies President Bushs plan to elimi- abling legislation. vying for MSP slots are AHL nate overtime pay, supports The new program goes into Shipping Company; American ergonomic safeguards on the effect on October 1, 2005, but Auto Carriers, Inc.; Central job, has co-sponsored legisla- a decision on the applications Gulf Lines, Inc.; Farrell Lines, tion to outlaw striker replace- will be made no later than 90 Inc.; Fidelio Limited Partner- ment and wants to index the days after October 15, 2004. By ship; Fine Line LLC; Great minimum wage to inflation that date (January 13, 2005) the American Lines (USA), Inc.; and extend and improve un- Secretary of Transportation, in Horizon Lines, LLC; Keystone employment benefits. conjunction with the Secretary Shipping Company; Liberty Kerrys record is not per- of Defense, shall announce the Global Logistics, LLC; Liberty fect. In the past he has sup- approval of the applications. Shipping Group, LLC; Lykes will lower private health insur- responsible for $620 billion of ported the free trade policies of APL Marine Services, Ltd., Lines Ltd., LLC; Maersk Line, ance costs and expand the num- that deficit, including $290 bil- both the Clinton and Bush ad- a new subsidiary of American Ltd.; Marine Transportation ber of people covered. Lower- lion in 2004 alone. Bushs tax ministrations that have been so President Lines/Neptune Orient Corporation; Ocean Shiphold- ing the cost of care will help the cuts benefitted the richest one devastating to the nations manu- Line, submitted applications for ings, Inc.; OSG Shipholdings organized labor retain health percent of U.S. households. facturing base and its good blue- nine operating agreements or Group, Inc.; Patriot Shipping, coverage for its members. collar jobs. However, Kerrys Bush has used national secu- slots. The nine slots cover the LLC; Seabulk International, position has evolved. He is com- Kerry is very concerned about rity and the September 11 trag- APL China, APL Korea, APL Inc.; TOS-II, LLC; U.S. Ship mitted to voting against the Cen- the outsourcing of American edy to justify an attack on Philippines, APL Singapore, Management, Inc.; Waterman tral American Free Trade jobs. He has vowed to stop tax American workers collective APL Thailand, President Steamship Corporation and Agreement and the Free Trade breaks to companies that send bargaining rights and civil lib- Adams, President Jackson, WyEast Shipping Company. Agreement of the Americas un- American jobs overseas and cre- erties. During consideration of President Polk and President The number of operating agree- less these agreements include ate tax incentives to keep good the Homeland Security bill, Truman which are currently op- ments each of these companies meaningful labor, environmen- jobs at home. Kerry also advo- Bush insisted on unprecedented erated by American Ship Man- applied for was not released by tal and human rights provisions. cates denying government con- power to strip collective bargain- agement (ASM). As the West MarAd and probably will not be known until January 13, 2005. On the critical issue of health tracts to companies that move ing rights from hundreds of Coast Sailors goes to press, APL The new program expands the care coverage, Kerry plans to offshore. thousand of federal worker. representatives were non-com- The American labor move- Bush allies even had the audac- mittal as to whether APL would size of the fleet from the cur- ment cannot survive another ity to attack Senator Max operate the vessels, continue to rent 47 to 60 privately-owned, four years of George W. Bush Cleland (D-GA), a Vietnam War have ASM operate them, or en- militarily-useful U.S.-flag com- and his band of megalomaniac gage a third party operator. mercial vessels operating in for- advisors. In less than four years, continued on page 2 eign commerce. While MSP payments to ves- sel operators have remained fro- Second class postage paid at San Francisco, CA (USPS 675-180) (USPS CA Francisco, San at paid postage class Second Pro-U.S.-flag tonnage tax bill sent to White House zen at $2.1 million per ship since Major corporate tax legisla- ing and enhancing maritime em- eign shipping income of a con- 1996, the new MSF program au- tion (The American Jobs Cre- ployment opportunities for trolled foreign corporation that thorizes an annual per vessel pay- ation Act) containing a key pro- American mariners. is affiliated with a U.S. com- ment of $2.6 million in fiscal vision to the U.S. maritime in- The legislation allows compa- pany. This provision, like the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. In dustry was sent by Congress to nies to elect a U.S. tax regime tonnage tax provision, further fiscal years 2012, 2013, 2014 and President Bush on October 11. based on the net tonnage or enhances U.S. companies com- 2015, the amount is increased to The tonnage tax provision weigh in tons of their U.S.- petitiveness in the foreign $3.1 million per vessel. spearheaded by Representative flag fleet, in lieu of regular in- trades. It includes a provision As with the current program, William Jefferson (D-LA) and come tax. This is an approach that eliminates the 4.3 percent the new program is subject to Representative James McCrey like that used in many major excise tax on diesel fuel imposed annual Congressional appropria- (R-LA) in the House and John trading nations and is aimed at on the towing and railroad in- tion. If funds are not authorized, Breaux (D-LA), Trent Lott (R- aiding U.S.-flag shipping com- dustries. This tax placed an un- vessel owners and operators are MS) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) panies competitiveness in the equitable and unnecessary eco- permitted to flag-out their ships. global market. in the Senate, will benefit U.S.- nomic burden on critical com- For more information on flag shipowners engaged in the This also includes a provision ponents of the nations transpor- MSP, see the November 2003 international trades by preserv- that defers U.S. tax on the for- tation industry. West Coast Sailors. Election Endorsements: Pages 4 & 5 VOTE NOVEMBER 2 ESU NEWS: Pages 6 & 7 Page 2 WEST COAST SAILORS Friday, October 22, 2004 SUP Honor Roll Final Departures Voluntary contributions from the membership to the following funds: Ronald Charles Christensen, Book Ruppert Griffith, Book No. 2008. No. 4766. Born in California in 1939. Born in Canada in 1915. Joined SUP in Organization/ Political Fund Joined SUP in 1966. Died in California, 1934. Died in Camano Island, Washing- General Fund Rogelio Berioso ................ 10.00 August 25, 2004. (Pensioner) ton, September 9, 2004. (Pensioner) Donald Diedrickson, Book No. 2375. *In lieu of dues increase. Bredan Bohanan .............. 50.00 Mike Boyle ..................... 20.00 Born in New York in 1927. Joined SUP Jose Angeles ................... 15.00 in 1946. Died in San Francisco, Califor- Stephen Campbell ........... 100.00 Bredan Bohanaan .......... 20.00* nia, August 8, 2004. (Pensioner) Dave Connolly ................. 50.00 Christopher Bujnowski ..... 10.00 Raymond P. Caderao, Book No. Earl Eastmark ................. 70.00 Mike Duvall ................. 20.00* 4743. Born in California in 1932. Joined Dale Gibson .................... 20.00 Tattoo Gardiner ........ 20.00* SUP in 1957. Died in Harbor City, Cali- Joseph Ginez ................... 10.00 John Gouveia ................. 50.00 fornia, September 14, 2004. (Pensioner) Published monthly by the Sailors Union of John Gouveia ................. 100.00 John Lewis, Book No. 4045. Born in the Pacific (an affiliate of the Seafarers Interna- Duane Hewitt ............... 20.00* , Chris Haluska ................. 70.00 Mississippi in 1923. Joined SUP in 1951. tional Union of North America, AFL-CIO) Hannu Kurppa ............. 60.00* Headquarters, 450 Harrison St., San Fran- John Hamann .................. 20.00 Died in Hattieburg, Mississippi, Septem- cisco, CA 94105. Phone: 415-777-3400. Gabriel McDonald ........... 10.00 Jill Holleman ................... 15.00 ber 14, 2004. (Pensioner) FAX: 415-777-5088. Dispatcher: 415-777- Carlos Medina .............. 20.00* Sedek Idris ..................... 20.00 3616. Website: www.sailors.org. Second David Mercer ............... 20.00* John Kerry for President class postage paid at San Francisco. (USPS Patrick Kuhn .................. 40.00 675-180). Printed by Howard Quinn Co., a Emmanuel Rezada ......... 100.00 Larry Loe ....................... 10.00 from page 1 Union shop. Francisco Rosales ............ 50.00 John Lundborg ..............