In the battle of union members versus pirates, chalk one up for the union members. One of the crew members of the ship that fought off Somali pirates said it was because of the crew's union membership that they won. Watch the video and pass it on.

When working people have the choice to form unions, they can ensure that they receive the proper training to keep the safe on the job.

The American crew members of the Maersk Alabama - a ship recently hijacked by Somali pirates - regained control of the ship.  The seamen specifically cite their union membership as a reason for how they were able to beat the pirates.

In an interview with NBC, the ship's Third Engineer, John Cronan, said this about their efforts:

"We are American seamen.  We are union members.  We stuck together, we did our jobs.  And that's how we did it."