Best time of year for hiring?

Just curious if the industry follows any trends for hiring, like is there a busy season to be hired in the commercial industry or is it just luck.

[QUOTE=tank3355;70915]Just curious if the industry follows any trends for hiring, like is there a busy season to be hired in the commercial industry or is it just luck.[/QUOTE]

Hell, I think everyone will agree that there are more open jobs in spring and early summer just about everywhere. No question in the NW and Alaska as boats head north for the season. Somewhat also in GoM since there is more offshore construction but many companies now keep their vessels fully manned even at the dock.

Petroleum shifts around the spring change over to gas, and the fall shift to heating oil. But crew quits, gets bagged on drug tests, and gets promoted at anytime. Keep calling or visiting. Have you called the 333 hall on Staten Island?

Be ready a few days before Christmas or Thanksgiving and be willing to give up your holiday at home if you really want the job.

Don’t bother with 333. The union is a mess right now, K-Sea just voted out and formed their own union and it looks like other companies will be going the same way when their contracts expire. Follow the bitchfest firsthand here: http://nyharbor.webs.com/

[QUOTE=cappy208;70980]Petroleum shifts around the spring change over to gas, and the fall shift to heating oil. But crew quits, gets bagged on drug tests, and gets promoted at anytime. Keep calling or visiting. Have you called the 333 hall on Staten Island?[/QUOTE]

Don’t bother with 333. The union is a mess right now, K-Sea just voted out and formed their own union and it looks like other companies will be going the same way when their contracts expire. Follow the bitchfest firsthand here: http://nyharbor.webs.com/

What do you mean formed their own union? I figured with Kirby buying them out, they would just fall under the Kirby banner and be non-union.

[QUOTE=ryanwood86;72339]What do you mean formed their own union? I figured with Kirby buying them out, they would just fall under the Kirby banner and be non-union.[/QUOTE]

Not even in that side of the industry but was told to stay away from 333. However, if 333 is gonna get me a job and my boot in the door than I got no complaints

[QUOTE=ryanwood86;72339]What do you mean formed their own union? I figured with Kirby buying them out, they would just fall under the Kirby banner and be non-union.[/QUOTE]

Kirby has owned Dixie Carriers for 40 years, that used to be there offshore tug and barge fleet. Dixie Carriers was SIU until the middle 90’s they voted them out then. I would be real suprised for Kirby not to get involved and push for the same thing at K-Sea now.

K-Sea is leaving the union when their contract is up. I didn’t understand the part about creating their own union.

According to a quick scan of http://nyharbor.webs.com/ KSea employees voted to decertify Local 333 and formed a new union called RTBU.

They voted out 333 and voted in the “Richmond Terrace Bargaining Unit”. My understand is that it is just a bunch K-Sea guys who intend to operate as a union while managing it all themselves in their spare time. Curious to see how that works out for them.

[QUOTE=KPEngineer;72359]They voted out 333 and voted in the “Richmond Terrace Bargaining Unit”. My understand is that it is just a bunch K-Sea guys who intend to operate as a union while managing it all themselves in their spare time. Curious to see how that works out for them.[/QUOTE]

The reality is that the 333 union was de certified (voted out by membership) but they couldn’t sign up with a certified ILA/ILO Union for two years. So they went the next best thing: an employee bargaining unit. Time will tell if they can keep it together for the two years until they can get a real union in (or maybe they will do well enough with their own association)?? They didn’t decide to have their own association out of choice. There was NO other way to have collective bargaining. I do believe that once the K-Sea guys go totally non union Kirby will totally slam the door on any attempts to unionize again.

In some respects I am amazed these guys took the chance. I know a couple of guys who came from Kirby. LOW pay, shitty benefits, lousy work schedule (OK, so I’m prejudiced against working 2 for 1 or 3 for 1… shoot me) Yeah, the year end wage is higher, but what about the home life being gone for 8 or 9 months a year? Dann Towing… Sign me up!

Given that NYC is a challenging and a super busy place to work that requires a lot of local knowledge, it should pay some of the highest wages in the industry. NYC is also a very expensive place to live. I don’t suggest that all of the tug crews should live in NYC, but a reasonable portion of them should, and they should be able to live decently on the wages that they earn working there.

25 years ago the companies brought in cheap Gulf labor to break a bloated and overpaid union with too many ridiculous work rules. Now the NYC pay is still about they same as it was 25 years ago. Ironically, some of the wages are now higher in the Gulf than they are in NYC.

Good thing I don’t have to live in the NY metro area. I would rather die first, or commit Hari-Kari. I HATE New York. But I LOVE the wages and working conditions. I absolutely LOVE the ports and sea conditions. And most controversially: The calibre of boatman is far superior (both WH, ER and deck)

[QUOTE=ryanwood86;72339]What do you mean formed their own union? I figured with Kirby buying them out, they would just fall under the Kirby banner and be non-union.[/QUOTE]

Kirby has to honor the current union agreement. K-Sea employees voted to decertify from 333 and formed the Richmond Terrace Bargaining Unit. Contract talks are underway now. Casco Bay (Maine) Ferries voted out of 333 as well. No one’s answering the phone at 333 and there’s a dues-strike on with other 333 companies. It’s a mess.
http://thertbu.com/
http://nyharbor.webs.com/

[QUOTE=tugsailor;72374]Given that NYC is a challenging and a super busy place to work that requires a lot of local knowledge, it should pay some of the highest wages in the industry. NYC is also a very expensive place to live. I don’t suggest that all of the tug crews should live in NYC, but a reasonable portion of them should, and they should be able to live decently on the wages that they earn working there.

25 years ago the companies brought in cheap Gulf labor to break a bloated and overpaid union with too many ridiculous work rules. Now the NYC pay is still about they same as it was 25 years ago. Ironically, some of the wages are now higher in the Gulf than they are in NYC.[/QUOTE]

Why should any of the tug crews be required to live there?

[QUOTE=c.captain;70950]Hell, I think everyone will agree that there are more open jobs in spring and early summer just about everywhere. No question in the NW and Alaska as boats head north for the season. Somewhat also in GoM since there is more offshore construction but many companies now keep their vessels fully manned even at the dock.[/QUOTE]

Spring and summer is a big slow-down in New York. With the slow-down comes yard-period and sometimes layups. Fall and winter is busiest in NY. I know a lot of guys (myself included) whose first day was either Christmas or Thanksgiving. It’s when everyone wants to be home and I think the companies will call you then to test you and see if you really want the job. Years ago it was the time when the union wasn’t really paying attention so you could jump in through the back door but the union is not a factor anymore.

For some strange reason that I certainly don’t understand, a great many people (10 million?) choose to live in NYC. Its crowded, expensive, and well . . . very very urban. That certainly wouldn’t be for me. Nor do I think that anyone should be required to live there, or anywhere else.

NY harbor work, and harbor workers, are essential to the functioning of the port and the city. The same in any city, but even more so in NY. The people who live in NYC ought to be able to a make a living doing jobs that exist in NYC. The same for anyplace else. I cannot see how it is a good thing for jobs in any place to pay less than the local cost of living, so that low cost workers must be imported from hundreds of miles away. Once the traditional local employers start replacing their skilled local workers with cheap labor from hundreds of miles away, what’s next? Even cheaper labor from Mexico, Eastern Europe, or the Philippines?

[QUOTE=tank3355;72343]Not even in that side of the industry but was told to stay away from 333. However, if 333 is gonna get me a job and my boot in the door than I got no complaints[/QUOTE]
Go ahead give 'em a call. 718-727-5675. Maybe YOU can get someone to answer the phone because they’re not talking to any of the membership.