AMO Currents - AMO Safety & Education Plan granted ‘prohibited transaction exemption’ to purchase AMO property

AMO Currents - Posted: April 6, 2009

AMO Safety & Education Plan granted ‘prohibited transaction exemption’ to purchase AMO property

The American Maritime Officers Safety and Education Plan can purchase property owned in Dania Beach by American Maritime Officers under a “prohibited transaction exemption,” or PTE, granted by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The PTE was required because the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) bars such business between labor unions and the benefit funds they establish through collective bargaining. The AMO Safety and Education Plan operates under a union-employer trust agreement and is funded exclusively by deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters merchant vessel operators during contract negotiations with AMO.

Under the PTE, the AMO Safety and Education Plan can buy the land it now leases from AMO. The 6.5-acre site includes STAR Center (Simulation, Training, Assessment and Research) and housing, parking and recreational areas used by AMO members and their families while the AMO members are enrolled in STAR Center’s training, certification and license upgrading programs.

DOL’s “Notice to Interested Persons” with respect to the PTE is available on the official AMO Web site at www.amo-union.org under “Union and industry bulletins and documents.”