New Leadership for America's Oldest Maritime Union

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Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (AFL-CIO)

MIKE JEWELL ELECTED PRESIDENT


A Calhoon M.E.B.A. School graduate and sailing member since 1986, Mike Jewell and the lion’s share of his slate have been chosen to shepherd the nation’s oldest maritime union over the next three years.
He ran an energetic, modern-age campaign, connecting with voters online and at the grassroots level. They tapped into a groundswell of members hungering for an uptick of Union prosperity as well as strengthened member rights and liberties.
Mike Jewell is a 1977 graduate of James Madison University and a Calhoon Cadet Group 77A graduate. He began his M.E.B.A. sailing career in 1982 with NOAA. Over the course of his shipping career, he has sailed out of all 3 coasts in various capacities and aboard numerous vessels. Mike served as the elected M.E.B.A. Seattle Patrolman from 1999 to 2004 and chaired the first ever M.E.B.A. District No. 1 Convention in 2000.
Most recently, Mike has been the permanent first assistant aboard Matson Line’s CAPE JACOB. He has also been a member of the US Navy Reserve for 28 years and currently holds the rank of Captain, USN. In his Naval Reserve capacity, Mike has trained hundreds of US merchant mariners in CBRD (Chemical Biological Radiological Defense) and has coordinated new officer training and indoctrination programs.
Mike serves on the executive board of US Strategic Sealift Officers (formerly US Merchant Marine Naval Reserve Program). He is a member of the National Defense Transportation Association, the Naval Reserve Association, Military Officers Association, the Reserve Officers Association, and the national Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

[pnorman]

1. The above was extracted from an email bulletin from the editor of the MEBA publications.

It's essentially Happy Talk, and no doubt written with an eye to keeping his job. Mike had won by a very comfortable lead against the incumbent, Donald Keefe, a thuggish oaf with an arrest record to match. Three years earlier, Keefe had won against Jewell but by a very narrow margin, and with a few "spoiler" candidates also on the ballot. And it was the first time in MEBA's long history, that a president had been elected by a PLURALITY rather than a MAJORITY!

At that time, MEBA had a password-protected Members BBS that was a model of rank & file free speech. Not surprisingly, one of Keefe's first moves was to have his principal critics (which included myself) thrown off that BBS. Recognizing the clear threat, frank discussion soon shriveled up and dried up altogether. But a year and a half later, an unofficial Discussion Board, Coffee Time, was set up, and here it is: http://coffeetime.forumcircle.com/portal.php

Membership is for Union Members, Union employees, and Plans employees, but the postings are visible to the general public. Give it a look-see. It's open to ALL Members, and with NO attempt to screen out anyone, including supporters of the Keefe administration. To date, only ONE person had been banned, and that was for outrageous behavior and after many warnings. Needless to say, Coffee Time can take full credit for that victory for rank & file union democracy. All you union members/activists with similar problems in your own union, take due note!