Mr. OLIVER. Then, if we have unemployment-insurance coverage for the maritime industry, it ought to cover every possible part of that industry, should it not? Mr. LUNDEBERG. Yes; absolutely it should. There should be no exclusions. Mr. OLIVER. There should not be any exclusions? Mr. LUNDEBERG. Absolutely not. Mr. OLIVER. As I understand it, this bill does not include the Great Lakes and the inland waters? Mr. LUNDEBERG. It does not include the Great Lakes. Mr. OLIVER. And it does not include those working within ports and harbors. Mr. LUNDEBERG. No; the way I understand the bill, and I just got a copy of the last one introduced, it excludes men working on the Great Lakes and inland harbors, and we think they should be in there, because if one part of the industry is going to get unemployment insurance, the rest of them should. There is no difference between men sailing on the Great Lakes or on salt water. Mr. OLIVER. If these services are not all included, naturally seamen are going to move to the services which are included, are they not? Mr. LUNDEBERG. That is right. Mr. OLIVER. Which would throw an extra load of labor competition upon those who are in the offshore service now? Mr. LUNDEBERG. That is right. Mr. OLIVER. And on those representing the maritime labor organizations, and I certainly do not want to see that happen. Mr. LUNDEBERG. No; I do not want to see that happen. I would like to see unemployment insurance cover everybody, all maritime employees. Otherwise, it would create confusion. It would pile up more men in one region than in the others, and you would have to pay out much more unemployment compensation in one part of the country than another. I other words, it would not balance the unemployment insurance at all. I believe that now is the time to put this bill over, with the inclusion of the Great Lakes, because there is no unemployment in the industry now, and it would give the Board a chance to build up a reserve fund for leaner days. Mr. OLIVER. Do you think a worker in the maritime industry who leaves his work voluntarily should be included under this coverage? Mr. LUNDEBERG. No; not if a man quits his job voluntarily just to get unemployment compensation; but if he quits his job in order to get a new job and he has to wait around because he can't get another ship, he should be entitled to unemployment compensation. A man can quit to get a better job or he might quit to go into another service. And there might be numerous legitimate reasons for a man quitting and in such cases he should be entitled to unemployment insurance. Mr. OLIVER. Do you think a man while on strike, even though not on picket duty, but out in connection with some phase of the strike itself, should be covered by unemployment insurance? Mr. LUNDEBERG. Well, I do not expect we will get that. Of course, it would be very fine if we could get it. Mr. OLIVER. You think it is a little too much to ask for? Mr. LUNDEBERG. Yes, sir; I do. Mr. OLIVER. That is all. The CHAIRMAN. Are there any further questions? If not, stand aside. (The following statement was subsequently filed for the record:) SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, Re 5446: Unemployment insurance for seamen. Hon. SCHUYLER OTIS BLAND, Chairman, Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: On behalf of the Seafarers' Interational Union of North America, composed of seamen and fishermen, we present the following statement on H. R. 5446, unemployment insurance for seamen. The last time this bill was before the committee, I testified on behalf of it, and suggested a few minor changes, and at that time you told me it would be all right for me to send in a brief. We suggest, therefore, that the bill be amended as follows: 1. Add to line 19, page 53, after the word "persons," add "who shall not be an official employed by any labor organization, or employed by the shipowners." The purpose of this addition is to make certain that this act will be administered in an absolutely fair and impartial manner, and to prevent any partiality to creep into the management or administration of this act, which is apt to happen if either representatives from the employers or unions are appointed to administer this act. 2. Add to line 11, page 51, after the word "act," and before parentheses, the following: "and other than maritime services as defined in subsection C of section 14 hereof." The reason for this addition is to make sure that the establishment of this act will not be used by employers and others to break up the now wellestablished union hiring-hall system, which we have fought for and obtained after years of hard struggle. 3: We strongly urge you to include the seamen on the Great Lakes in this act because they, possibly more than any other type of seamen, should benefit from this act, inasmuch as their work is seasonal and for 4 or 5 months out of the year they are laying idle with nothing to do, so we cannot urge you too strongly to take care of this type of seamen. 4. We also strongly urge your honorable committee to include in the provisions of this bill, the fishermen; they are also seasonal workers and should be included, as the vast majority of them are married people; wage earners, although at times they may make good wages by fishing, at other times they make nothing, and sometimes they go in the hole, and as a consequence are destitute, and should by all means come under the provisions of this law. We recommend that this is a good time to pass this law, because at the present time there is hardly any unemployment in the maritime industry due to the fact that national defense has taken up the slack, and by passing this law now, a fund can be built up to be used as a reserve for hard times and depression which all forward-looking bodies are today preparing against. We request that this be submitted for the record, and remain, Very sincerely yours, HARRY LUNDEBERG, President, Seafarers' International Union of North America, The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Hawk. STATEMENT OF JOHN HAWK, SECRETARY-TREASURER, The CHAIRMAN. What is your name, and whom do you represent? Mr. HAWK. John Hawk, Secretary-Treasurer of the Seafarers' International Union of North America, Atlantic and Gulf district, representing about 20,000 seamen. We are in favor of the passage of this bill with the amendments to the bill to include inland water seamen and seamen on the Great Lakes and in the harbors. That is all I have to say. Mr. WELCH. You mean the Great Lakes, rivers, and harbors? The CHAIRMAN. Are there any questions? If not, stand aside. All right, gentlemen, unless there is someone else who desires to be heard, we will stand adjourned. (Thereupon, at 11:25 a. m., the committee adjourned subject to the call of the chair.) APPENDIX [H. R. 5446, 77th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To establish a system of unemployment insurance for the maritime industry, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, FINDINGS OF FACT AND DECLARATION OF POLICY The Congress hereby finds that there ordinarily exists among the workers engaged in transportation on waters adjacent to the United States a volume of unemployment which lowers the efficiency and impairs the morale of such workers. The great body of workers in other branches of industry, trade, and transportation are now protected to some degree against the hazard of unemployment, maritime workers being the only group within the field of industry, trade, and transportation who are not so protected. The Congress further finds that the costs of providing protection against the hazard of unemployment in industry, trade, and transportation other than maritime transportation are borne by employers engaged in such activities. Employers in the maritime industry, on the other hand, although their business is in direct competition with other forms of transportation, bear no such costs. The Congress further finds that data with respect to the total volume of unemployment in the maritime industry, variations therein from time to time, the degree to which benefit rights would be affected by disqualifications normally included in systems of unemployment insurance, and other data essential for the construction of a permanent system of unemployment insurance for the maritime industry are lacking and can be obtained only through a period of experi ence in the actual operation of a system of unemployment insurance for that industry. The Congress hereby declares its purpose by this Act to inaugurate a system of unemployment insurance with respect to employment in the maritime industry as hereinafter defined, and to insure the safe operation of that system until the permanent system shall have been inaugurated in order by such operation to protect the efficiency and morale of workers in the industry. It is the intent of the Congress that the provisions of this Act shall operate (a) to afford as soon as practicable some protection against the hazard of unemployment to workers in the industry, and (b) to provide the necessary data upon which to construct a permanent system of unemployment insurance with respect to employment in the maritime industry as hereinafter defined. The Congress further intends that not later than the second session of the Seventy-ninth Congress a permanent system of unemployment insurance with respect to unemployment in the maritime industry, as hereinafter defined, shall be established and that at such time there shall be made available for the purposes of such unemployment insurance system any reserves accumulated in the maritime unemployment insurance account herein established, and that specific provision be made for repayment of any advances to the maritime unemployment insurance account. DEFINITIONS SECTION 1. For the purpose of this Act, unless the context clearly requires otherwise and except when used in amending the provisions of other Acts— (a) The term "employer" means any person or company which pays compensation to one or more employees. (b) The term "vessel" includes every description of watercraft or other contrivance used as a means of transportation on water, including tugs, non-selfpropelled craft, and other similar contrivances, which (i) is documented or is entitled to be documented under the laws of the United States, except vessels 180 owned by the United States other than those engaged in commercial service, and (ii) is engaged in the transportation of persons or property in coastwise or intercoastal commerce, or in foreign commerce including commerce between foreign ports, exclusive of commerce exclusively on rivers, inland lakes, and the Great Lakes, or within a port, and exclusive of vessels engaged in the catching, taking, harvesting, cultivating, or farming of any kind of fish, shell fish, crustacea, sponges, seaweeds, or other aquatic forms of animal or vegetable life. (c) The term "company" includes corporations, associations, and joint-stock companies. (d) The term "employee" means any individual who is or has been engaged in employment. (e) The term "employment" means service performed for compensation as a master, officer, or member of the crew of a vessel, other than service included in the term "employment" as that term is defined in the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and other than employment subject to an unemployment compensation law of a State at the time of the enactment of this Act. An individual is engaged in service as a master, officer, or member of the crew of a vessel although not engaged in active service if there is compensation payable to him for time lost, including time for which there is compensation payable to him (i) for keeping himself in readiness to resume active service as a master, officer, or member of the crew of a vessel, (ii) for or because of personal injuries incurred in employment, but not in excess of his loss of earnings while injured, or (iii) as or for his maintenance upon the basis of his having been in active service. The term “employment" includes also intermittent or contract service as a member of the crew of a transport ship in the United States Army Transport Service. (f) The term "registration period" means, with respect to any employee, the period which begins with the first day for which he registers at a registration office in accordance with such regulations as the Board may prescribe, and ends with whichever is the earlier of (i) the sixth day thereafter, or (ii) the day which is, or which is stated by him, in such form as the Board may prescribe, to be, the last day before such sixth day for which he registers at such registration office; and thereafter each period which begins with the first day for which he registered at a registration office after the end of his last preceding registration period and ends with whichever is the earlier of (i) the sixth day thereafter, or (ii) the day which is, or which is stated by him, in such form as the Board may prescribe, to be, the last day before such sixth day for which he registers at such registration office. (g) The term "compensation" means any form of remuneration, including pay for time lost and excluding tips, payable for services rendered as an employee. The term "compensation" includes the cash value of all remuneration payable in any medium other than cash. The cash value of remuneration payable in any medium other than cash shall be determined in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the Board. (h) The term "remuneration" means pay for services for hire, including pay for time lost and tips, and pay for time lost shall be deemed earned on the day on which such time was lost. The term "remuneration" includes also earned income other than for services for hire if the accrual thereof in whole or in part is ascertainable with respect to a particular day or particular days, and includes the cash value of all pay payable in any medium other than cash. The cash value of remuneration payable in any medium other than cash shall be determined in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the Board. The term "remuneration" does not include (i) the voluntary payment by another, without deduction from the pay of an employee, of any tax or contribution now or hereafter imposed with respect to the remuneration of such employee, or (ii) any money payment receved pursuant to any nongovernmental plan for unemployment insurance. (i) The term "monthly compensation," with respect to an employee, means an amount determined as follows: As of June 30 of each year, or as near thereto as may be practicable, the Board shall determine, with respect to the base year, the average monthly money wage rate payable by employers for each rating of officers and members of crews of vessels. The monthly compensation of an employee shall be such average monthly money wage rate for the highest rating in which, together with employment in a higher rating |