Posted:
November 9, 2012
By Tom Bethel
National President
Like everyone else, I was stunned by the devastation wrought upon the U.S. Northeast by Hurricane Sandy, a storm of unprecedented size and sweep at about 1,000 miles wide.
My immediate thoughts were with the American Maritime Officers families living in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states, especially in the New York and New Jersey coastal communities where Sandy was at its most brutal.
I thought just as quickly about the AMO retirees who had settled into life along the Jersey shore or on Long Island, and about the AMO members who were not with their families in these areas when the storm hit because they were working at sea.
During the storm, and in its immediate aftermath, many of these active AMO members aboard ship were unable to communicate with loved ones at home, where there was no electricity and no landline or cell phone service, no Internet or email and no Facebook. These extraordinary men and women braved a different kind of darkness, not knowing whether their spouses, children and parents had been injured or worse, not knowing whether their homes had been leveled or destroyed by fires or by floodwaters - all while keeping professional focus on the safe, efficient operation of their vessels.
As national president of American Maritime Officers, I offer our union's greatest possible and practical support to all active and retired AMO members, to all applicants for AMO membership and to every AMO family suffering because of this catastrophic storm.
Which brings me to the American Maritime Officers Membership Assistance Program, or MAP.
The National Executive Board of AMO established the AMO Membership Assistance Program in September 2005 as a response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which ravaged Gulf Coast communities and slammed AMO families in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Florida. MAP provided valuable assistance to these families.
MAP's exclusive purpose is to help those who suffer property loss or damage during storms and other destructive natural phenomena - earthquakes, mudslides, rock slides, avalanches, tornadoes, dust storms, wildfires or tsunami. Benefits from the fund are paid to eligible families at levels determined only by relative need.
The AMO Membership Assistance Program was seeded initially by a modest contribution from our union's treasury, but it has since been supported exclusively by individual contributions from deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters AMO members and applicants. AMO officials and AMO and AMO Plans employees also contribute to MAP routinely.
MAP funds are held in a bank account separate from the AMO treasury, and MAP is audited quarterly by a certified public accounting firm.
The Internal Revenue Service in January 2006 granted tax-exempt status to the American Maritime Officers Membership Assistance Program. The fund is not required to pay taxes on investment earnings, individual contributions to the fund are deductible under Section 170 of the federal tax code and benefits paid to eligible families are not subject to federal income tax.
That MAP is a reliable resource unique among U.S. merchant marine officers' unions is a testament to the innate generosity, compassion and character and the fundamental decency of the seagoing AMO membership. These qualities can keep MAP strong so that our union can continue to help our own in times of real need.
For information on how to apply for MAP benefits or how to contribute to the fund, please refer to our union's official Web site.
AMO turns to for hurricane relief service
I am pleased to report that American Maritime Officers has provided full complements of officers for three ships ordered up by the Maritime Administration for Hurricane Sandy relief service in the Northeast. MARAD activated the vessels at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Department of Homeland Security.
The ships are the State University of New York Maritime Academy's training vessel T/S Empire State and Massachusetts Maritime Academy's training vessel T/S Kennedy, which are operated during this relief service by TOTE Services, Inc. and American Overseas Marine (AMSEA), respectively, under General Service Agreements with MARAD.
The third vessel is the Ready Reserve Force Ship Wright, operated by Crowley Liner Services.
On behalf of the National Executive Board of AMO, I offer my thanks to the AMO members and AMO applicants who filled the licensed positions on these vessels on such short notice. Their quick response to the call was typical of the "can-do, will-do" spirit that helps distinguish AMO among licensed seagoing unions.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions. Feel free to call me on my cell at (202) 251-0349.
Hurricane Sandy brings AMO MAP fund to the fore
By Tom Bethel
National President
Like everyone else, I was stunned by the devastation wrought upon the U.S. Northeast by Hurricane Sandy, a storm of unprecedented size and sweep at about 1,000 miles wide.
My immediate thoughts were with the American Maritime Officers families living in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states, especially in the New York and New Jersey coastal communities where Sandy was at its most brutal.
I thought just as quickly about the AMO retirees who had settled into life along the Jersey shore or on Long Island, and about the AMO members who were not with their families in these areas when the storm hit because they were working at sea.
During the storm, and in its immediate aftermath, many of these active AMO members aboard ship were unable to communicate with loved ones at home, where there was no electricity and no landline or cell phone service, no Internet or email and no Facebook. These extraordinary men and women braved a different kind of darkness, not knowing whether their spouses, children and parents had been injured or worse, not knowing whether their homes had been leveled or destroyed by fires or by floodwaters - all while keeping professional focus on the safe, efficient operation of their vessels.
As national president of American Maritime Officers, I offer our union's greatest possible and practical support to all active and retired AMO members, to all applicants for AMO membership and to every AMO family suffering because of this catastrophic storm.
Which brings me to the American Maritime Officers Membership Assistance Program, or MAP.
The National Executive Board of AMO established the AMO Membership Assistance Program in September 2005 as a response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which ravaged Gulf Coast communities and slammed AMO families in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Florida. MAP provided valuable assistance to these families.
MAP's exclusive purpose is to help those who suffer property loss or damage during storms and other destructive natural phenomena - earthquakes, mudslides, rock slides, avalanches, tornadoes, dust storms, wildfires or tsunami. Benefits from the fund are paid to eligible families at levels determined only by relative need.
The AMO Membership Assistance Program was seeded initially by a modest contribution from our union's treasury, but it has since been supported exclusively by individual contributions from deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters AMO members and applicants. AMO officials and AMO and AMO Plans employees also contribute to MAP routinely.
MAP funds are held in a bank account separate from the AMO treasury, and MAP is audited quarterly by a certified public accounting firm.
The Internal Revenue Service in January 2006 granted tax-exempt status to the American Maritime Officers Membership Assistance Program. The fund is not required to pay taxes on investment earnings, individual contributions to the fund are deductible under Section 170 of the federal tax code and benefits paid to eligible families are not subject to federal income tax.
That MAP is a reliable resource unique among U.S. merchant marine officers' unions is a testament to the innate generosity, compassion and character and the fundamental decency of the seagoing AMO membership. These qualities can keep MAP strong so that our union can continue to help our own in times of real need.
For information on how to apply for MAP benefits or how to contribute to the fund, please refer to our union's official Web site.
AMO turns to for hurricane relief service
I am pleased to report that American Maritime Officers has provided full complements of officers for three ships ordered up by the Maritime Administration for Hurricane Sandy relief service in the Northeast. MARAD activated the vessels at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Department of Homeland Security.
The ships are the State University of New York Maritime Academy's training vessel T/S Empire State and Massachusetts Maritime Academy's training vessel T/S Kennedy, which are operated during this relief service by TOTE Services, Inc. and American Overseas Marine (AMSEA), respectively, under General Service Agreements with MARAD.
The third vessel is the Ready Reserve Force Ship Wright, operated by Crowley Liner Services.
On behalf of the National Executive Board of AMO, I offer my thanks to the AMO members and AMO applicants who filled the licensed positions on these vessels on such short notice. Their quick response to the call was typical of the "can-do, will-do" spirit that helps distinguish AMO among licensed seagoing unions.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions. Feel free to call me on my cell at (202) 251-0349.