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Shannon J. Wall (March 4, 1919, Portland, Oregon – February 2, 2007) was a merchant seaman and an American labor leader. He was president of the National Maritime Union (or NMU, now part of the Seafarers International Union of North America) from 1973 to 1990. His father and mother ran a small dry cleaning company.〔Nelson, "Shannon J. Wall, 87; Won Veterans Status for WWII Merchant Seamen," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 13, 2007.〕 He joined the United States Merchant Marine and became a merchant seaman. He joined the NMU shortly thereafter. When the Merchant Marine was incorporated into the U.S. armed forces during World War II, he became a boatswain and served in the Pacific on both freight and troop carriers.〔 In 1951, he was appointed a staff representative (or "port patrolman") for a union local in San Francisco, California, roaming the port and talking to workers to ensure the union's contract was being honored. He became a staff representative in San Pedro, California, in 1954. As he rose within the union's ranks, he moved to New Jersey to represent the union in East Coast shipping matters.〔 Wall was elected the national union's vice president in 1958, and served three two-year terms. In 1964, he was elected the national union's secretary-treasurer.〔"Former Maritime Union President Dies at 87," ''Associated Press,'' February 13, 2007.〕 ==Presidency of NMU== Wall was elected interim president of the NMU on March 5, 1973. He was only the second president in the union's history.〔 Incumbent president Joseph Curran had been accused of financial improprieties. Wall was formally elected president on June 12, 1973. During Wall's presidency, the NMU shed nearly half its membership.〔 The increasing use of flags of convenience cut deeply into the number of American merchant seamen. The use of much larger ships (reducing the number of transports needed to move the same amount of goods) and technological innovation (reducing the number of seamen needed to man a ship) also led to significant reductions in eligible members. Wall was a strong proponent of mergers between various maritime unions, and the organizing of an international union to cover all maritime workers. Throughout the 1970s, Wall was a strong voice in the debate over national energy policy. He pushed for at least 20 percent of imported oil to be carried on ships flying the American flag, lobbied against the sale of Alaskan oil to Japan, and demanded that liquefied natural gas be carried on ships and not pipelines from Alaska to continental U.S. ports. In 1975, a dissident NMU member was awarded $333,500 damages in suit filed against Curran, Wall and another NMU officer. The suit alleged that Wall and the others had maliciously prosecuted the member after he had criticized the NMU leadership. In 1978, Wall won a new contract with Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shippers which hiked wages 32 percent over a three-year period. Although Wall had been an early endorser of Jimmy Carter as president, his union broke with the AFL-CIO to endorse Ronald Reagan.〔Prochnau, "Reagan Endorsement Flouts Union Chief," ''Washington Post,'' October 11, 1980.〕 Wall was re-elected for a fourth term as president in 1983 after a bitterly contested campaign. Wall received 9,958 votes and his opponent, Kirby-Smith McDowell, had 4,140 votes. Although no investigation by the United States Department of Labor was undertaken, Senator William V. Roth Jr. (R-Delaware) argued that significant violations of federal labor law had taken place in the election.〔"Maritime Chief Is Re-Elected," ''New York Times,'' October 19, 1983; Noble, "Report to Senators Faults U.S. Inquiry on Maritime Union Vote," ''New York Times,'' November 4, 1986.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shannon J. Wall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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