Vessel crewmembers are working people. They don’t benefit from tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. They need the benefits and protection sought by labor unions and the party of labor, the Democrats. They need affordable health care and Social Security. They need good public schools for their children. They need an intelligent energy policy and environmental protection. They need the right to organize and the right to fair compensation when they are injured.
The Republican party has been in control of the federal government for eight years, during which time no progress has been made to meet the needs of vessel crewmembers.
The cost of health insurance has sky-rocketed. Social Security is in jeopardy. Public schools have languished. There has been no concerted effort to deal with problems of energy and the environment. The Republicans continue to mount their attack upon labor, often under the guise of tort reform which would erode the injured seaman’s right to compensation.
Anderson, Connell & Carey has been fighting for the rights of injured seamen for more than 30 years, in the courtroom and in the public square. In 1986, Dave Anderson actively opposed so-called “tort reform” and urged seamen to do likewise.
This year, our law firm is supporting the Obama-Biden ticket and we urge seamen to do the same. If McCain and Palin are elected, they will nominate Supreme Court justices likely to diminish the rights of labor, including vessel crewmembers. Past Republican nominees have been instrumental in depriving the families of deceased seamen of full compensation for their loss. They have also opposed punitive damages for the failure of shipowners to provide maintenance and cure to injured seamen.
Anderson, Connell & Carey maximizes compensation to its clients under the law. The state of the law, however, is a result of the political process. In myriad ways, the Democratic party seeks to influence that process in favor of working people.
To vessel crewmembers voting on November 4, 2008, we say: If you are compelled by opposition to abortion or gay marriage to vote Republican, so be it. But if you want to protect your legal rights, you should vote Obama-Biden .
