Document jyxLn43ZVmK26DQV2o9xBGzp5

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 6, No. 2 January 23, 1964 ESA and Company Conclude Negotiations Amendment No. 3 to labor agreement provides higher wages, increased overtime pay, special pay for holiday meals to Steward's Dept, men and development of programs for surplus personnel, if there should be any. The Esso Seamen's Association Board of Gov ernors and representatives of the Company reached agreement, Jan. 10, on the terms of revisions to the current labor contract. The Amendment is subject to ratification by ESA members and results of the voting are to be announced on March 10. Among the principal changes are wage in creases for all unlicensed men, effective Sept. 1, 1963, the nominal termination date of the previous Agreement. If the Amendment is ratified, wages at the increased rates will start with the first pay-off after March 10. The difference between the former rates and the new for the period from Sept. 1 to mid-March will also be paid at that time. For an AB, Oiler or FWT, this will amount to about $97.50. The monthly wage increases for the various ratings are as follows: Bos'n* $17.50 Able Seaman 15.00 Deck Maint* 14.00 Ordinary Seaman 12.00 Pumpman 19.00 MM/2nd Pumpmani 19.00 Second Pumpman* 17.50 Oiler Fireman/WT Chief Cook Second Cook Messman Utilityman *When carried $15.00 15.00 18.00 15.50 11.50 11.50 Overtime pay for all ratings is increased 2 cents to $2.47, $2.42 or $1.89 per hour (effective Jan. 10, if the Amendment is ratified) except for the following: Entering tanks, bilges, or removing sludge on deck or in tanks -- $3.63 per hour for weekdays off watch. A newr addition provides $4.84 per hour for this work on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays. Another new addition provides overtime pay of $2.47 per hour for Pumpmen and MM/2nd Pumpmen when working on repairs over and above their normal 8 hours of work, Monday through Friday, or for any repair work on Sat urdays, Sundays and holidays. Chief Cooks, Second Cooks and Messmen will receive $7.45, $7.30 and $5.70, respectively, special payment for preparation of Thanks giving, Christmas and New Year's Day meals. Inclusion of these recent holidays means that these men (if they worked aboard ship on those 3 days) will receive $22.35, $21.90 and $17.10, in addition to $117, $100.75 and $74.75 --the difference between their present pay and the new rates up to the mid-March pay-off (assum ing, of course, that the Amendment is ratified). Also, Steward's Dept, men will be paid higher rates for taking care of passengers, serving meals in port to other than pilots, watchmen, inspec tors and Port Staff members, and feeding repair gangs. The provision tying the number of men in the Steward's Dept, to the number of other men in the crew complement is eliminated. Security Provisions An important feature of the Amendment is that the Association, in seeking security for its mem bers, and the Company, seeking efficiency in its operations, have agreed upon a procedure for dealing with surplus personnel, if there should be any. The procedure is contained in a letter to the Association, printed on pages 1 and 2 of the Amendment. As copies of the complete Amend ment are being sent to vessels for all unlicensed personnel, it is not necessary to repeat the letter here. Suffice it to say that the Company has agreed that where efforts to improve the fleet's efficiency through a change in crew complement or where a vessel's sale or removal from service results in EXX-MOR-006896 AB Carl C. Vella and his Cadillac convertible. High Seas to Highways You may have read success stories about dynamic personalities with driving ambitions (not necessarily on a golf course). Carl C. Vella, AB in the Esso Gettysburg, is a man with not only driving ambitions, he has driving accom plishments-- well over a half-million miles worth, he estimates -- and without an accident. Carl loves to drive and before he joined the fleet 9 years ago was a taxi driver and private chauffeur. Recently he drove from Baytown to New York City, via Lookout Mt., Tenn.; Virginia, etc. and on his next paid leave, plans to go to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He has a 1957 Cadillac (gets 18 mpg. on trips) and before that, had a 1953 "Caddy". You might say that Carl spends a good deal of time "at the wheel" -- aboard ship or ashore. surplus personnel, the Company and the Associa tion will discuss the problem. The Amendment shows a clear indication of the Company's intent to develop with the Association satisfactory programs for dealing with surplus personnel, if any. In addition, the letter further indicates that there will be no lay-off of regular employees because of changes in crew comple ments during 1964 and for some time beyond. Tax -- Interest -- Dividend Notes W-2 Forms, those little slips you attach to your income tax statements showing total wages paid by the Company and amounts of withholding taxes, etc., were mailed to W-4 addresses of sea going employees this week. The week before, the annual Thrift Fund state ments were mailed to plan registered addresses. Included in these statements is the amount of in terest you paid on Thrift Fund loans (if any) and the amount of interest credited to your account from the Fund earnings. Interest PAID on loans is a deductible item on income tax returns. Thrift Fund earnings are NOT reportable as current in come on tax returns. Thrift Fund earnings were credited to members' accounts as of Dec. 31 at a rate of 4.226% of the average monthly balance of unallocated cash in employees' accounts during the year. The Humble Employees Credit Union, Baytown (which our seamen are eligible to join and many have) declared a dividend of 5% on members' sav ings as of Dec. 31. Actually, it is l/12th of 5% of the Dec. 31 balance multiplied by the number of months during the year that that or a lesser amount was on deposit. For 1962 the dividend was 4.56%. The Credit Union's assets increased $635,000 to $3,970,000 in 1963 and membership increased to 7,400, a gain of almost 400. Aside from savings and loan activities, the Credit Union offers several helpful information services to members. It is located on Market Street, near the Post Office, in Baytown. USPHS Medical Care for Seamen A package of little booklets entitled "Medical Care for Seamen", published by the U. S. Public Health Service, will be sent to each vessel in the fleet in a day or two. The booklet tells who is eligible for PHS medical care, how eligibility is established, when eligibility ceases, what care is available and con ditions under which the Public Health Service will pay for emergency care at other hospitals. Included is a list of addresses and telephone numbers of 15 PHS hospitals and 25 outpatient clinics and addresses of 109 outpatient offices. British-Built Tanker Has Novel Features The 85,000-dwt. tanker Borgsten, largest built in Great Britain, was launched in Sunderland, England, Nov. 1 and had her sea trials the same month. The 869.5' x 122' x 60.5' vessel presents an unusual appearance in that instead of an ordinary bridge, there is an airport or aircraft carrier-type control tower. The streamlined structure is located aft, rises 75' above the load waterline and con tains five decks and an elevator. In addition to the usual navigating equipment, the control center has remote controls for the main engine (a 10-cylinder, 21,000-bhp. diesel), a TV screen (TV camera is in the bow) and a device that records orders from the bridge to the engineroom. The Borgsten was built by Joseph L. Thompson & Sons, Ltd., for Fred Olsen & Co., Oslo, and has been chartered to Shell Tankers, Ltd., for 20 years. j ^ ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Division, Humble Oil & Refining Co.: Joseph Andreae, General Manager; Sydney Wire. Assistant General Manager. W. E. Gardner. Editor. Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to The Editor. Esso Fleet News, Humble Oil & Refining Co., P. 0. Box 1512, Houston 1, Texas EXX-MOR-006897 Anybody Wont to Race? Lifeboat race, that is. Arne Olsen, Coach of Humble's World Champion Lifeboat Crew of 1963, is looking forward to a repeat performance in 1964. He is going to need some new men though, because several of last year's crewmem bers are no longer with us. Anyone interested in rowing and having a hand in hanging on to the Millard G. Gamble Trophy and gaining permanent possession of the famed Joseph W. Powell Cup (we need one more victory to keep it) should drop a line to Arne. Address: Arnfinn Olsen, Humble Oil & Refining Co., Marine Division, P. 0. Box 1512, Houston 1, Texas. Be sure to state your age, weight and any rowing experience or other qualifications. OBITUARY Captain Nils Borgeson, 75, who retired March 1, 1946 after 23*4 years in the fleet, died on Jan. 6. He is survived by his wdfe, Dagmar; 2 sons, Harold and Richard, and a Ah.-*' brother, Sven. He lived in Seaford, L. I., N. Y. JilliS--- Born in Sweden, Captain Bor geson first sailed in the fleet in 1918-19 as Third and Second Mate in the Herbert G, Wylie. He was promoted to Master of the Franklin K. Lane in Aug. 1933 and served in this rank until his retirement. He commanded 6 vessels during the War years, his last being the Esso New Haven. Frederick Braun, 59, former Third Mate, died suddenly on Dec. 30 of a heart attack. Sur viving are his wife, Helen and daughter, Judith. He had re tired on disability in Dec. 1959 and lived in the Bronx. N.Y. Mr. Braun had nearly 21 years of Company service, be ginning as Ordinary Seaman in the Beaconlight in 1932. He advanced to Third Mate in Oct. 1937 and sailed almost 5 years in this rank and as Second Mate. During World War II he was Chief Mate with the Matson Line but returned to the Company in 1947. Esso Scranton -- Still Making News For some time now we have had but one con secutive issue of the Fleet News without men tion of the redoubtable Esso Scranton -- but here she is -- in the newrs again. She left Baytown Dec. This is a portable, compressed air operated valve turner that was put aboard the Esso Washington for testing on Jan. 11. It consists of an air motor to which Port Engineer T. J. McTaggart has designed attach ments and fittings to turn cargo valves or large valves in the engineroom. To operate a valve with the turner, the nut holding the handwheel is replaced with a special, round, stainless steel nut (shown in lower center of photo). A socket in the driving spindle of the turner fits over the round nut and a driving arm rests against a spoke in the wheel. To open a closed valve, the control lever on the motor is turned to "open", the handle is grasped firmly and a lever-type throttle is squeezed to start the motor. To close a valve, the motor direction is reversed. The valve turner weighs about 45 lbs. and has variable speeds up to 150 rpm. It should be especially useful in freeing-up stiff valves. We'll see how it works out on the Washington. 12, transited the Suez Canal Jan. 2-3, bunkered at Aden the 8th, arrived at Karachi the 13th and was due at Bombay on the 20th. As a result of some transatlantic negotiating by A1 Reining, of our Traffic Dept., the Scranton's next port wall be on the Persian Gulf to load a cargo for discharge at a Mediterranean port. A1 is now working to "fix" another charter for a cargo from Libya or Sidon to the U. S. East Coast. According to a letter from the Scranton's Mas ter, Captain Emil L. Wigh, (mailed Jan. 2 at Port Said) the Atlantic crossing was "a little rough". He enclosed several copies of The Esso Scranton News, a twice-weekly sheet that Sec ond Mate Bill Falvo has been writing. It is a real lively, morale-building paper, chock full of news, football scores, customs procedures, safety remind ers, the ship's itinerary, how many rupees to a dollar, (19 for $4.) etc. Captain Wigh also gave us a "funny" which you might enjoy. Seems there wfas a Power Squad ron class (men and women) on Long Island learn ing about the Rules of the Road and small boat handling. At the end of the course, the instructor held an oral quiz. He asked one of the lady stu dents -- "What signal would you give if you were coming out of your slip slowly, stem first?" TAFFRA1L TALK -- The Esso Bangor and Esso Gloucester were the first 2 ships to receive motion picture projectors and the films "Fire Fighting Aboard Tankers" and "Rescue Breathing". The equipment and film will be moved from ship to ship. We've seen both movies and rate them very interesting and in structive. Don't miss them when they come aboard your ship. *** The Marine Texan, ex-Esso Bridgeport or more correctly, ex-Esso Bridgeport's stern, entered ser vice this month carrying molten sulphur from Beaumont to East Coast ports. With a new mid body and forward section, the vessel is now about 90' longer and 10' wider than originally and the deadweight was increased from 16,000 to 24,000. Also, the main engine has been modernized and up-rated to 7,000 shp. (from 6,000). ** * Second Asst. Engineer Sebastian L. Koep is now in Japan on a 3-month assignment as a Coat ing Inspector at the Kure Shipyard. Third Asst. Curtis W. Keech, Jr. is the Com pany's Inspector at the Newport News shipyard for the coating of steel as fabricated for Hull No. 573, our 66,700-dwt. supertanker. ** * Ralph M. Bragdon, former AB in the fleet, is now 12-4 AB in the USNS Blue Jacket, an MSTS freighter recently on a run to Bremerhaven. Ralph has no complaints except that he misses "that good old Esso paid leave". SERVICE EMBLEM AWARDS it 20 YEARS it 10 YEARS ^ William E. Baldwin October 4, 1962 Charles B. Banks July 26, 1962 Charles E. Hill July 20, 1962 Elbert C. Lott July 9, 1962 Arthur R. Menard August 15, 1962 Albert Monteiro July 8, 1962 Leuign W. Osier July 27, 1962 Edmund J, Reimer August 7, 1962 Michael Sharik, III September 26, 1962 Emery H. St. Clair, Jr. August 1 1, 1962 William L. Thompson August 19, 1962 JohnW. Wehman August 14, 1962 Captain Moffitt to New Post Effective March 15, Captain James G. Moffitt. Manager of our Operations Department, will transfer to the Jersey Company's Transportation Coordination Department on a one-year loan as signment as Manager. Marine Cost and Operations Division. ~ RECENT RETIREMENTS Repair Inspector John W. Balzli. For the past 19 years Mr. Balzli has been boarding vessels, estimating repair re quirements, preparing specifi cations and supervising repair work -- in short, giving his best to the job of overcoming the effects of wear and wastage. And John's best was very good, indeed. A few of the big jobs he supervised were the rebuilding and lengthening of the Esso San Juan, conversion of the Esso Bangor to a lube oil carrier and, more recently, hull repairs to the Esso Chester and Esso New York. Before he became a Repair Inspector on Dec. 16, 1944, Mr. Balzli put in over 14 years in the fleet. He joined the Company as Machinist in the S. B. Hunt on July 22, 1930, advancing to Third Asst. Engineer in that vessel. During World War II he was First Asst, and Chief Engineer in the Esso Richmond (II) and Chief in the Esso Hart ford and Esso Norfolk. Mr. Balzli retired because of ill health on Jan. 1. He lives in Mobile, Ala. with his wife, Myrtle. Able Seaman Benjamin BarRANEDA had over 13 years of continuous service as AB when he left the Esso Dallas for re tirement on Dec. 30. Back in 1933 he had 2 months in the fleet but quit to work ashore, a decision he said he regretted many times. He wrorked as a carpenter in Bethlehem's Sparrows Point plant from 1935-45 and sailed with several shipping companies before returning to Esso in Dec. 1950. "I can truthfully say that Esso is the very best company I have ever worked for," Mr. Barraneda said. Bom in Spain, Mr. Barraneda lives in South Daytona Beach, Fla. with his wife, Lydia Marie. They have 5 children -- Royce, Faye, Fred, Niska, and Jane, age 40-26. He likes gardening and plans to do some part-time carpenter work.