The American Radio Association, the Inlandboatmen’s Union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association endorse Obama-Biden ticket. The members of the Maritime Labor Alliance are fully committed to the future growth and economic viability of the United States-flag shipping industry and to the jobs of the American maritime workers we represent in all segments of our industry.
The Presidents of six major maritime labor unions announced today their endorsement of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for re-election. The maritime labor unions endorsing the President are: the American Radio Association, the Inlandboatmen’s Union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association.
The members of the Maritime Labor Alliance are united in our conviction that the rights of our members under the law must be protected. We cannot and will not stand on the sidelines and remain silent as those who espouse anti-union and anti-worker policies put themselves forward as champions of middle class families. Weakening existing labor laws and weakening the right of American workers to organize and to bargain collectively will only serve to deny American workers the wages and benefits they deserve.
We appreciate the strong support President Obama and his Administration have shown for the American worker and for the rights of these workers under the law. In contrast, the repeated statements made by his opponent calling for a weakening in these rights and the expansion of right-to-work laws clearly evidence an anti-union bias that should be rejected.
The members of the Maritime Labor Alliance are fully committed to the future growth and economic viability of the United States-flag shipping industry and to the jobs of the American maritime workers we represent in all segments of our industry. We are committed to strong federal health and safety standards to protect the lives and health of our members and support the right of our unions to bargain fair contracts free from intrusive government interventions. We strongly support the President’s initiatives to increase American exports, to enforce existing buy and ship American policies, to fund and implement the Maritime Security Program, and to ensure that our nation has a fleet of U.S.-flag vessels necessary to meet the economic, homeland and military security requirements of our Nation. In contrast, we are disappointed in the complete lack of any statement from the President’s opponent recognizing the strategic and economic importance of our industry to the United States.
We understand that there is much at stake in this election for our industry and for the rights and economic well-being of American maritime and other workers. For this reason, we are proud to enthusiastically endorse the re-election of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.