SIU President Emeritus Michael Sacco Passes Away
Seafarers International Union President Emeritus Michael Sacco died December 28, 2023, in St. Louis, surrounded by family members. He was 86 years old and passed away from natural causes.
Mike was the longest-serving president in SIU history, having led the organization from 1988 until his retirement in February 2023, a period spanning nearly 35 years.
The Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters, AFL-CIO, represents professional United States merchant mariners sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels in the deep sea, Great Lakes and inland trades.
Sacco served as president of the SIU’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters (AGLIW) for nearly 35 years, beginning in June 1988. He also worked as president of both the Seafarers International Union of North America (a federation of autonomous unions that includes the SIU AGLIW) and the Maritime Trades Department (MTD) throughout the same period.
Moreover, in November 1991, at its 19th Biennial Constitutional Convention, Sacco was elected a vice president of the AFL-CIO, the federation of 60 national and international unions representing more than 14 million workers in the United States. He eventually became the senior vice president of the AFL-CIO Executive Council as its longest-serving member.
A protégé of the late SIU President Paul Hall, Sacco from 1980 to 1988 directed the SIU AGLIW’s Great Lakes and Inland Waters division as vice president. Based in St. Louis, he served as secretary- treasurer of the Greater St. Louis Area and Vicinity Port Council (an MTDchartered organization) and as an executive board member of the Missouri State AFL-CIO. Sacco also was vice president of the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship from 1968 to 1979. The school, located on the grounds of the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Maryland, prepares men and women for a career aboard U.S.- flag commercial vessels and provides upgrading opportunities to active members.
He became associated with the SIU in 1958 and shipped aboard U.S.-flag merchant vessels until he came ashore during the 1960s to serve the SIU in a succession of union posts, including those of patrolman, port agent and headquarters representative.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Sacco served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1958.
