Union Members Fight off Somali Pirates!

http://action.seiu.org/page/invite/pirates Watch a member of the crew of an America ship attacked by pirates talk about his union membership in helping win the fight. The American crew members of the Maersk Alabama - a ship recently hijacked by Somali pirates - regained control of the ship. The seamen specifically cite their union membership as a reason for how they were able to beat the pirates.

In an interview with NBC, the ship's Third Engineer, John Cronan, said this about their efforts:

"We are American seamen. We are union members. We stuck together, we did our jobs. And that's how we did it."

Category:

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• union
• members
• somali
• pirates
• efca
• employee
• free
• choice
• john
• cronan
• american
• sailors
• crew
• ship
• attack
• maersk
• alabama

[OhioDemocrat]

I salute the Crew of the Maersk Alabama. That same we stuck together, we did our jobs attiude is what makes Union members everwhere proud.

As Americans continue to struggle throught these hard times, I think of how expanding the ability to join a Union will better the lives millions. I strongly support The Employee Free Choice Act because as the Crew of the Maersk Alabama have shown Union members stick together for the betterment of all.

[editguy1]

As a union member, this is ridiculous.

Being a union member has nothing to do with this.

[Popajaja]

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera the world body has "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline.

[jjgallick]

Give me a break. It was the non-union U.S. Navy that brought this to a happy conclusion. All this union talk is bullshit.

[KIRTCO1]

To help any worker in distress must be a daily guide in the life of every trade union and its individual members. Labor solidarity means just that. Unions have to accept the fact that solidarity of labor stands above all else. The basic aspirations and desires of the workers throughout the world are the same. Workers are workers the world over. International solidarity, particularly among maritime workers, to their protection and a guarantee of reserve economic power in times of strife.

[hankfletcher]

The only direct argument to make against the value in the union-lead, anti-piracy training is to argue that it would've been more cost-effective for the employer to allow the crew to die and replace pirated equipment. As an employer or company insurere, I'd consider training the employees a sound idea, and I'd be thanking them for bringing that to my attention.

[hankfletcher]

Can we all agree that, in the least, the captain and crew thwarting the pirates is at least a parable underscoring the strength of unions? Their training in defence against pirates is credited by the captain and crew, i.e. They made a case for that training, because they knew more than their employer the value of that training. The employer won, because the employees, through their union, made a strong case for something of value to the company. The employees won, because they're not dead.

[ANGLEBOOT]

I am in a union, but the SEIU is a communist group calling themselves a union.

The AFL-CIO does not recognize SEIU as any part of the union in American.

That's because they are from over seas and not American.

[LarryNocella]

Man the rich really have some working class dupes doing their dirty work. I refer to the haters of this video. Talk it up, folks. Be anti-union. The best slave is a willing slave. Righteous dupes are so much cheaper than lobbyists.

As for me, I'm glad the SEIU is promoting this. Keep it up. Thank you.