American Maritime Officers and the defined benefit AMO Pension Plan remain above water financially as the nation braces for an anticipated autumn surge in COVID-19 infections.

AMO closed August 2020 with a modest operating budget surplus of $40,423, but this total was below the projected amount. Revenue in August also fell below projections as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic's effect on the economy nationwide. But AMO's investment account balance increased by $350,000 in August 2020.

Our union's August 2020 budget surplus reflected a trend that began in mid-2015 - with few exceptions, each month since then has ended with a surplus attributable to a combination of sound asset management and increased timely payment of AMO membership dues and applicant initiation fees, the principal sources of AMO operating revenue.

Because of this productive partnership between the AMO administration and the seagoing deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters membership, AMO is in its sixth consecutive year without a dues increase or an increase in initiation fees paid by applicants for AMO membership.

The pandemic's economic impact on AMO is most acute on the Great Lakes, where 12 vessels have been withdrawn from service because of weak demand for iron ore, coal and stone.

According to a new report from the Lake Carriers' Association, shipments of iron ore for domestic steel production - the principal cargo for the Great Lakes fleet - fell more than 40 percent in August from the total recorded a year ago. The August 2020 total of 3.6 million tons was 37.9 percent below the fleet's five-year average.

As we all know, laid-up vessels in any domestic or international market mean fewer jobs for AMO members and fewer job-based employer contributions to AMO Plans, the benefit funds that serve all deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters AMO members and their families.

AMO remains cautious and responsible during this unprecedented and unpredictable crisis. Spending is limited to providing effective and efficient representation, protecting the professional interests of the seagoing AMO membership and keeping AMO headquarters and the offices in Toledo and Washington, DC open.

Increased legal fees account for unanticipated expenses this year, but capital projects completed at AMO headquarters and the relocation of the AMO office in Washington were within budget. Insurance will cover most of the cost of repair and remediation resulting from the June 5 fire at AMO headquarters - the building was closed and unoccupied at the time, and no one was injured.

Meanwhile, the AMO Pension Plan reported that, despite several difficult days on Wall Street in late August and this month, the Plan is up 9.3 percent in return on investment. The AMO Pension Plan remains in the federal Pension Protection Act's "green zone," with a funded status of 85 percent.

The AMO Pension Plan will mark the end of its fiscal year on September 30, when the Plan's actuaries will certify its funded level with the U.S. Department of Labor as required under federal law.

Paul Doell
September 25, 2020