Chouest, Hornbeck, Harvey

Only need 30% of the covered employees to sign pledge cards to force an election conducted by the NLRB. It’s anonymous and any retaliation brings the government involvement in workplace practices.

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The NLRB will likely revert back to it’s employer friendly policy soon.

If they did try to organize here’s what they run up against. Not to mention the anti union sentiment in the the south that is part of education there in many places.

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Can’t skirt the law no matter how employer friendly a regime is. If we don’t try and just complain, then we deserve to be cucks!

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Agree, until you do try to organize you will indeed be cucks. Report back when you make that organization effort. A lot of folks talk about it but few have the courage to do it. Let us know how that goes.

One of the many things that baffles me about the unionization of the GoM discussion that comes up once or more a year on gCaptain forum is, what is so special about GoM oilfield work that would make it worth the hassle to unionize? If a mariner wanted to work for a union, shouldn’t they go get a union job? There’s all kinds of union work available right now. Nows the time to go get it instead of risking blackballing by trying to implement something that was never very popular in the GoM before. I can understand unions wanting to get dues from GoM mariners as long as GoM mariners stayed in their lanes in the GoM. But it makes little sense for to me for an individual to try to get everyone else on board, or change the cultural mindset on unions so that individual could work union. So much easier for the individuals who want union jobs to just go get them. Baffling.

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Clearly you don’t understand the concept of what a union actually does or what it takes to leverage for better pay, benefits and conditions. Another question, what is so special about any other sector of the maritime industry to make them “special” and worth unionizing? It’s about to rain here, might want to lower that nose of yours before you drown.And is the concept of unionizing not very popular? Or is everyone just scared watchng their income continue to lower relative to COLA, while the owners are making unprecedented profits?

Nothing. But there’s plenty of non-GoM, union jobs available for anyone who wants them. I worked for TDW for 10+ years, GoM at first then more than last half of my time there international. I eventually got married and wanted an even time schedule & stability that wasn’t offered at TDW or anywhere else in GoM. I sure the hell didn’t go back to the GoM with the idea to unionize the place to get even time schedule & work out a plan for job security for the oil field GoM industry. I quit & got a job at an union outfit in NY Harbor. That was nearly 20 yrs ago & I don’t work a union job anymore but my advice to any GoM mariner who wants a union job is to go get it. Why put up with all the hassel of trying to reinvent the wheel in the gulf? I read on this forum that HOS is laying off. If you guys ever did get the ball rolling for unionization, chances are everyone who signed a card would be laid off with a few hundred anti-union guys anyways. And forget about a strike ever working in the oilfield. From what I recall, a large minority of your co-workers prefer working 9, 10 or 11 months a year. The same type of Southern scabbs that broke 333 in the '80’s would do the same in the GoM on the first bargaining disagreement. Just go work for MEBA if you want to work for MEBA. @tengineer1 advice of, “Report back when you make that organization effort.” is the equivalent of saying, “Tell us how you feel after jumping off a bridge or shooting yourself in the foot.” It ain’t worth it imo. Good luck with whatever you do, or don’t though

Please tell me you aren’t a member of MMP’s Atlantic Maritime Group (formerly Local 333)??? Because paying 1.5% of your gross wages to a union that elected a scab deckhand (during said lockout in the 80’s) Big Mike as President is an absolute disgrace of a union. Tell me, what schooling does your union provide? Pension? Unless you are a hostage employee like at Reinauer, you don’t even have medical through this union. That’s just a union in name and a mob tied organization linked to the ILA, that fleeces you out of a paycheck. Funny you mention MEBA, as they have everything I asked about above.

I did work for 333 & they’d sucked. Thats was an AB/Tankerman union that also had us red headed bastard engineers & mates for a novelty on the side. If you like MEBA or AMO then go work for them. They will accept you as an individual from the GoM in time, once you pay your dues & show you’re not a dipshit. But if MEBA unionized the majority of the GoM then the blue water side will never accept GoM guys in bulk. Switching over would be near impossible imo. Also, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama & Florida are all Right-to-Work states. Even if 51% of HOS employees voted to unionize it doesn’t mean the other 49% would have to join. They wouldn’t have to pay the dues & still could get the same terms if they wanted. And if they aren’t members, they wouldn’t be obligated to go on strike either. Also, below is a copy/paste from the NLRB page with Biden, a pro-Union potus in office!?! I don’t think it’s going to get any better with Trump in office. As long as the Gulf states are Right-to-Work, hanging yourself with unionization ideas, talk & attempts are pointless imo.


Hiring Halls

In some industries, most jobs are filled through referrals from union hiring halls.

Employers in the construction and maritime industries often choose to hire exclusively through referrals from union hiring halls. Unions that operate exclusive hiring halls must notify workers how the referral system works (and of any changes in that system) and maintain non-discriminatory standards and procedures in making job referrals from the hiring hall. You don’t have to be a union member to use a hiring hall and a union may not discriminate in making referrals based on whether or not you are a union member. It may, however, charge nonmembers a reasonable fee to use the hiring hall’s services.