ALL THOSE POSITIONS LISTED AS BEING IN THE US ARE BEING ADVERTISED BY VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES…IN REALITY NOT ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS IS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE TO ANYONE EXCEPT FOR THE NORWEGIANS, BRITS OR WHATEVER NATIONALITIES THEY ALREADY HAVE ON THEIR VESSEL KINGFISHER. THEY HAVE NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER TO REPLACE A SINGLE ONE OF THEIR PEOPLE WITH AMERICANS BUT JUST ARE “JUMPING THROUGH THE HOOPS” TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENT MADE BY THE DEPT. OF LABOR THAT THEY “TRY” TO RECRUIT QUALIFIED AMERICANS!
THIS IS COMPLETE, UTTER, TOTAL, DECEIPTFUL, BULLSHIT WHICH IS GOT TO STOP AND STOP SOON.
IF ANYBODY FROM VEOLIA IS READING POSTS ON THIS BOARD, BE ON NOTICE THAT QUALIFIED MARINERS ARE GOING TO START REGISTERING THEIR AVAILABILITY TO WORK FOR YOU WITH THE DoL AND YOU HAD BETTER BE READY TO HIRE THEM WHEN THEY DO OR YOU’LL BE IN FOR A LEGAL SHITSTORM IF YOU DON’T!
I HOPE THAT THERE ARE OTHERS HERE WHO ARE WITH ME. IF YOU HAVE (OR WANT TO OBTAIN) AN UNLIMITED LICENSE, NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. WE NEED TO STRIKE WHILE THESE JOBS ARE POSTED AT RIGZONE.
I’ve been told the USCG in the district involved has to approve these Jones Act exceptions. If that’s true and I think it is, political pressure probably has something to do with this.
Keep in mind that campaign contributions a.k.a. bribes to senators could possibly bring pressure on the USCG. As in any crime you follow the money.
Every 6 month when Veolia posts these positions on RigZone I apply and one time actually spoke with a port captain in their Morgan City office who without so much as a stutter said [I]“oh, we run those ads because we have to”[/I]
That is why I know this is a deceiptful scam of the highest order.
The required qualifications might be a bit tricky to meet by all but the guy they already have in mind for the job. Like was mentioned earlier, they have to list these jobs to the US public to satisfy the DOL paper chase. It may be that there is a job but no “job opening”; they are just going through the paper chase so then they can turn down all comers as “not qualified” and then get an exception and work visa for the foreign guy that actually holds this job already.
You’re right that the Companies write such stringent job descriptions that they probably include the shoe size that the mariner needs to wear. This is a huge part of the way that this BS is pertetuated. What needs to happen is to get the Dept of Labor out of it and for a standardized qualifications established to make a level playing field and get American mariners a chance to play this game.
How in the hell other than by combining voices can we get our fine beaurocrats to listen to us for a change.
I have been told that if a congressman/woman or senator gets 50 emails/calls on one subject then they are required to investigate the subject. Perhaps everyone should reach out and touch their corrupted officials about this matter.
What I have hoped for years to get started is a professional association like the National Mariners (formerly GCMA) that sould represent ALL certified US mariners in Washington DC but as was pointed out in my earlier thread, the entrenched vessel operating companies would treat ANY such association as a threat to their way of operating and would do anything necessary to cut off their air supply (to use the words of Bill Gates) even though the association would not by its very charter engage in any collective bargaining. It would only serve as a lobbying organization to represent that American mariners interests are heard in the Capital.
It is too bad that the NMA just doesn’t have much muscle and I have thought long and hard about myself starting a companion association but I honestly believe that most mariners are too insecure with their positions to risk joining such an association and without a large membership any new group would have the same fate as the NMA. Exist on paper but with zero influence in Washington.
In the meantime, I believe the best thing to do is to sound the alarm in the hope that I might be able to wake enough fellow American mariners to the reality that many hundreds of very good offshore jobs which by law are supposed to be theirs to fill are through subtrefuge and deceipt being taken by foreign mariners instead.
Some very good ideas there, cc. The NMA and the MTVA are working together along those same lines. Success is a factor of membership and involvement, and I would encourage every mariner reading this to consider joining one or the other or both, and then getting involved.
At this point I feel this story is ready for national exposure, but I don’t know how to approach national media with it. Is there anyone on the forum with experience in this area? I think this would be a big story given the current economic situation and the high unemployment numbers in the US of A.
The members of OMSA depend on work from the oil exploration and production companies; Exxon, Shell, Marathon etc. These same oil companies hire these foreign flag vessels. The OMSA is not going to make too much noise and bite the hand that feeds it. But that does bring up another question. Why aren’t the US companies building vessels to provide the same service? There are only a couple of US companies building MSVs and they aren’t the larger supply/anchor boat companies. Are they just into anchors, mud and barite?
The members of OMSA depend on work from the oil exploration and production companies; Exxon, Shell, Marathon etc. These same oil companies hire these foreign flag vessels. The OMSA is not going to make too much noise and bite the hand that feeds it. But that does bring up another question. Why aren’t the US companies building vessels to provide the same service? There are only a couple of US companies building MSVs and they aren’t the larger supply/anchor boat companies. Are they just into anchors, mud and barite?
