Maritime Labor Alliance Appoints ILA’s Thomas Mackell As Executive Director

NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (October 15, 2015) The Maritime Labor Alliance, comprising six of the country’s leading maritime labor organizations, appointed Dr. Thomas Mackell to a newly created post of Executive Director, at the Alliance’s semi-annual meeting this week in Washington, DC.

Dr. Mackell, whose involvement with maritime labor organizations spans decades, is currently Special Advisor to the International President Harold J. Daggett of the International Longshoremen’s Association.

The ILA is one of the six unions comprising the Maritime Labor Alliance, along with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU); Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA); American Radio Association (ARA); Inlandboatmen’s Union (IBU) and the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots (IOMM&P).

Tom brings a great deal of experience to the table and knows his way around Washington,” said ILA President Daggett. “Working in conjunction with the legislative representatives of our MLA unions, we will make our voices heard where it counts in Washington and on the Docks.”

Dr. Mackell was the Administrator of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association’s jointly administered trust fund for 14 years and worked for over 20 years in the investment management and financial services industry with Taft-Hartley, public, corporate pension funds and endowments and foundations on asset allocation and corporate governance issues.

The author of a book, When the Good Pensions Go Away: Why America Needs a New Deal for Pension and Health Care Reform, he is a frequent guest commentator on national radio and television shows and speaks at investment and employee benefit conferences throughout the country.

Dr. Mackell was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on January 1, 2003 and served as Deputy Chairman from June 2003 and as Chairman from January 2, 2005 until the end of 2008. He was also a White House appointee to the ERISA Advisory Council to the Secretary of Labor from 1997 through 1999.

Dr. Mackell will now assist the six unions of the Maritime Labor Alliance, in his new role as Executive Director, as the organization continues to fight anti-union legislation proposed in U.S. Congress to strip collective bargaining and free association rights away from longshoremen as well as ongoing attacks against the Jones Act and the proliferation of so-called “Free Trade” bills designed to concentrate more wealth in the hands of the few.

Donald Marcus, International President of the Masters, Mates and Pilots, was re-elected to serve as President of the alliance and MEBA Secretary-Treasurer Bill Van Loo was elected to serve as MLA Secretary-Treasurer.

“I look forward to working with the six unions of the MLA to build on the success we have already achieved as the true voice of Maritime Labor in America,” said Dr. Mackell. “As we move forward in solidarity and strength, I am excited to strengthen that voice and better represent our maritime rank-and-file members.”