After Surviving Pirates, the Real-Life Captain Phillips Fights Job Cuts - Working In These Times:
"Utilizing similar teamwork, the real-life Phillips and members of his AFL-CIO-affiliated union, the Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P), are now rallying against a threat to their livelihood more serious than Somali pirates. Even before this month’s federal government shutdown, sequester-driven budget cuts were scheduled to reduce funding next year for the Maritime Security Program (MSP). At a cost to taxpayers of $186 million annually, the MSP subsidizes a fleet of 60 commercially owned and operated ships. But a projected budget shortfall, ranging from $25 million to $30 million. in 2014, has led the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to warn ship owners that one-third of the vessels in this fleet, including the now-famous Maersk Alabama, face elimination from the program."
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