June membership meeting canceled as uncertainty persists
The monthly AMO membership meeting scheduled for June 7 at union headquarters in Dania Beach is canceled because of continued uncertainty over COVID-19 conditions in Broward County and in the State of Florida.
This precautionary decision reflects consensus within the AMO Executive Board on the impact of troubling data indicating persistent health risk under certain conditions statewide and locally, despite a nationwide decline in new coronavirus infections.
Florida continues to rank third among the 50 states in COVID-19 infection, with 2,326,755 cases and nearly 40,000 deaths since the pandemic national health emergency was declared in mid-March 2020. State health authorities on June 1 reported an average of 17,991 new infections per week.
In Broward County, which includes Dania Beach, the rate of coronavirus contagion hovered between two percent and three percent throughout May 2021, but the numbers since then suggest an uptick in these percentages. While local ordinances prohibiting indoor and outdoor gatherings of 10 or more when the rate is at five percent or higher have been suspended, counsel advises that Broward County, Dania Beach and the State of Florida remain under declared states of emergency.
Experts in the private and public sectors link the pandemic's dramatic decline in most states to the rising rate of vaccinations.
A study conducted recently at the Milken Institutes School of Public Health at George Washington University in Washington found that, while the rate of contagion had fallen among individuals who had been vaccinated, people who had not taken one of the vaccine options still suffered high rates of hospitalization and death.
This study concluded that if the vaccinated were removed from the nationwide pandemic data base today, the infection and fatality rates would be where they were in December 2020 - 73 percent higher. Of the 50 states, Florida and Maryland remain especially vulnerable, with 50 percent of new cases likely to require hospitalizations. Florida reports more new coronavirus cases each day than any other state.
Meanwhile, many AMO members remain at work aboard vessels in what are referred to commonly as "hot spots" in the United States and overseas - COVID-19 and its emerging variants today are surging in Singapore, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. Three "variants of interest" have been identified in the United States.
"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have significant impacts on the U.S. marine transportation system, the global shipping industry and on mariners themselves," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a May 2021 advisory.
"The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 infection and the prolonged nature of the pandemic have compounded existing stressors and created new stressors on maritime personnel, including feelings of isolation and physical and mental fatigue caused by pandemic-related restrictions on crew changes, shore leave and repatriation of seafarers. These issues have led to humanitarian concerns as well as concerns for the physical and mental health of mariners."
Dr. Marissa Baker at the University of Washington School of Public Health administered a recent survey on the pandemic's impact on U.S. merchant mariner morale and mental health. The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System COVID-19 Working Group conducted the survey.
"Often, with worker health and safety, the best ideas come from the workers themselves," she said. "I've already received emails from mariners who have so many ideas about what needs to be done and what could be done," Dr. Baker said. "Connectivity is a big one - without access to the Internet and telephone to be able to connect with family and friends, there's isolation and feelings of disconnection."
Fundamental, universal human need - AMO officials and representatives focus on this every day as they continue to address the aggravating complications the Coast Guard pointed to: "crew changes, shore leave and repatriation." Some cases are easier than others, but the apparent approach of "normalcy" in the United States remains a distant hope to AMO members stranded overseas by unduly long rotations, restrictions on movement and the prolonged wait for relief.
We also stand in moral support of AMO members who have had to contend with COVID consequences in their personal lives - sickness or death in the family, a son or daughter who lost a job or a small business. We have no specific information on such sad circumstances, but the statistics we have followed since March 2020 suggest strong probability.
As always, our priority here is the health and safety of all AMO members and their families. We do not want an AMO member who would be in Dania Beach for a membership meeting, or for other union business, falling ill while here and bringing the coronavirus home to their families or to their vessels - their homes away from home.
We look forward to restored direct, in-person AMO membership meetings - the open exchange, the lively conversation - in the safest possible environment and at the earliest possible point, and we appreciate your patience, your understanding and your cooperation.
Paul Doell
June 4, 2021