Political Action Tool Kit

TRACK LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS WITH "THOMAS' This link accesses an extremely powerful legislative search engine. You can track important legislation through introduction, committee and final voting. All you need is the bill number or name to read a summary or the whole bill, to quickly determine its present status, or carefully watch its schedule. There are also committee reports, library access, and voting records. Also an online directory for the House and Senate

DemocracyNet This site gives state by state information on all elections and ballot issues. Check a candidate's position on the issues as well as the funding for his/her campaign

Online Absentee Balloting This site will allow you to register for voting in any state in the nation online. Each state has different rules, but most send you a ballot upon request

Opensecret.org When they say 'follow the money,' this site is how you do it in the information age. Who's giving and who's getting, searchable by politician, industry, state, locality, PAC, and individual donor. Breakdowns of the national and state races by dollars. Awesome resource

Admiralty Law This site is an excellent resource for all types of maritime law. Many categories of information and cases are provided

Find Law Another very powerful search engine that will allow easy research of labor and maritime law: the code, the cases, and the backgrounds. Legal referrals are available as well as resources relating to criminal, housing, auto, family, immigration, employment and personal injury law

Government Section

United States Senate

United States House of Representatives

Code of Federal Regulations Search the most recent CFR's online. The entire code is available including Title 46 Shipping, and Title 29 Labor

U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration Use this link to contact and watch the office that is charged with building and maintaining a viable American Merchant Marine, the Maritime Administration (MARAD).

National Labor Relation Board Official site of the National Labor relations Board. Includes press releases, public notices, fact sheet, summaries of labor laws, manuals and forms.

Federal Maritime Commission This is the agency primarily responsible for the settling of disputes and complaints related to shipping statutes

Congressional Information Bureau This site provides a daily maritime legislation bulletin. As well as the current CIB issue and searchable archives

Committee on Transportation And Infrastructure

Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation

Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

US Code This is the actual U.S. law that governs ships and sailors from manning levels to carriage of animals to load-lines to seamen's documentation

Lobbies

Transportation Institute Advocacy and resource group for U.S.-flag shipping

American Maritime Congress The American Maritime Congress is an educational and research group representing U.S.-flag vessel operating companies in the international and domestic trades that have collective bargaining agreements with the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association

Maritime Cabotage Task Force The MCTF is a coalition of companies and unions joined together to support domestic shipping under the U.S. flag and to preserve cabotage laws, also known as the Jones Act

"Carry this Strike Card on your person with your Union Card and show when demanded, and while you have it on you go to no place where you would not show it with pride, and do nothing to put on the Stain of Dishonor. When the strike is over the Secretary will endorse upon this card the fact (if true) that you have assisted in saving the Union. And then when sailors are free enough to (word illegible) to marry and have children this will be your certificate of honor to them.

This strike was ordered to SAVE THE UNION, to enforce your rights as free men, as Americans, as haters of slavery. Never give it up until ordered by the Union. Never yield a single inch. Remember that BUCHANAN of Colorado called you the 'Lookout of the American Labor Movement,' the backbone of organized Labor on the Pacific Coast. Remember your glorious history and die in the streets of San Francisco of starvation before you think of yielding.

And remember that if we have to beg the public of San Francisco for food, then I will be the first man to go from house to house for dry bread to keep life in our bodies while we are fighting for the right of the sailor to resist the bloodmonied infamies of San Francisco. "
-Burnette G. Haskell Chairman, Advisory Committee; Instructions on the back of an 1886 strike card.