How is MEBA looking for low-time 3rd A/E? I’ve spoken with a retired chief and his son is MEBA–his son has no problem getting jobs.
I’d like to hear some actual input because the AMO marketing department claims they are the way to go…“we have all the jobs”. MEBA looks like a strong and more stable organization to me, though.
I wish this country only had one Maritime union, or one licensed and one unlicensed. All that’s accomplished by having multiple unions is they underbid each other and bring wages down.
I wish all unions were not 100% seniority based. Maybe 40-75% based on seniority and the rest competence, performance, etc. Granted, I have absolutely no idea how this would be implemented.
[QUOTE=johnny.dollar;181926]I wish all unions were not 100% seniority based. Maybe 40-75% based on seniority and the rest competence, performance, etc. Granted, I have absolutely no idea how this would be implemented.[/QUOTE]
how about mandatory retirements after 25years with ZERO cash buyouts allowing “retired” mariners to keep taking the jobs
MEBA engineers are getting out. Most jobs pay more than AMO. AMO definitely has more ships, but MEBA still has a pension and like I said higher pay for most ships. New 3rd won’t get an APL ship right out of the gate but 100k tanker job is nothing to sneeze at
[QUOTE=brjones;181930]MEBA engineers are getting out. Most jobs pay more than AMO. AMO definitely has more ships, but MEBA still has a pension and like I said higher pay for most ships. New 3rd won’t get an APL ship right out of the gate but 100k tanker job is nothing to sneeze at[/QUOTE]
Thank you for this input. I understand things are slower, but as long as there is ability to get some jobs and not starve, that is fine for me. I’m slowly transitioning careers and in it for the long-haul and would prefer stability and maturity instead of job hopping/interview/resume (I’ve been doing that for many years).
I’m equidistant from the Baltimore and Norfolk MEBA hall…is there differences among the two (I live in VA)…responses via PM will remain private.
Overall, it seems engineers have less trouble getting works than deck officers, but I have no evidence of this, merely hearsay.
I’m still at the academy so take it for what it’s worth, but I’ve been keeping a close eye on the assignment history page on the “members only” section of MM&P’s website stocking the people that were seniors when I was a freshman. As I said in my earlier post, some it seems waited for months after registering, some only a short while. Some were relief jobs, some were 120 day jobs. Includes APL, MLL (a guy that moved to the east coast), Matson, and Patriot for the most part. I am not sure how often the people who waited for months actually went to the hall. After talking to a few of these new applicants, the consensus seems to be that it’s not great but not terrible either.
not a big difference in the 2 halls. Baltimore doesn’t really have a lot of jobs and Norfolk might have more but not as many as NY or LA. Best thing you could do would be head to Baltimore and sign up. Get your physical there and register for a shipping card. There you may get lucky and find an open board job or I think they have some ROS ships tied up that need people. Not 100% sure. If nothing there then I would head to NY. Hall shipping is very seasonal and senior people like to have Summer’s off. Perfect for the new applicant to get work. That being said, the academy grads will be getting out soon so get in and get a jump on the shipping card. Right now guys are getting jobs but it really depends on where you are willing to go. Willing to jump on a plane and fly to SF or LA? The more you do, the better the chance. Not to mention hall rats get all the day work and night hawk jobs while waiting for a shipping job. I haven’t day worked in awhile but it use to pay about $350 a day. Betting it’s much higher now. Basically it pays for the flight, hotel and beer while waiting for a ship. Also a few companies like OSG or ATC have the right to hire and applicants can apply with them after signing up. I know OSG is looking but don’t know about the others. Good luck!
[QUOTE=DamnYankee;179192] What I’ve always liked about this industry is if you show up and do your job the best you can, you can get promoted on your merit and reputation, not on who you know. [B]I’m not saying non union is different in this regard [/B][/QUOTE]
Yes it is. 100% different…when it comes to that anyway.
[QUOTE=Johnny Canal;179203]Then you clearly have not met the dispatcher extraordinaire “Jay” in NY.[/QUOTE]
I have heard some things about MEBA as well. Just not as rampid and obvious as in the SIU.
[QUOTE=The Commodore;179208] A donation to the Political Action Fund? [/QUOTE]
I love how the “donations” to the Political Action Fund work in the SIU. They take it out of your vacation check without prior consent, then if you check the little box that says you dont want to contribute anything more than what they will already take, the patrolman, who has the power to really screw you over when it comes to job placement, can be very “persuasive” that you absolutely have to “donate” more.
Or it may have been that they won’t send in the form for you to get your vacation check at all unless you sign under where it says that you acknowledge that they are going to take out the initial amount. Either way, it still felt like extortion because you wouldn’t be able to get your vacation check at all unless you agreed to “donate”.
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;178954]but all unions should chime in so we can all benefit from the information.[/QUOTE]
I doubt we will hear much from MFOW, SUP or IBU. People that are and have been in good situations don’t go online to complain. IBU was the best union I ever dealt with. Minimal B.S. Mostly it just seems that with IBU promotions and advancement were handled in the correct way. And there was no extortion, funny business, waiting in union halls or union reps to deal with.
[QUOTE=Johnny Canal;179203]Then you clearly have not met the dispatcher extraordinaire “Jay” in NY.[/QUOTE]
I have heard some things about MEBA as well. Just not as rampid and obvious as in the SIU.
[QUOTE=johnny.dollar;181926]I wish all unions were not 100% seniority based. Maybe 40-75% based on seniority and the rest competence, performance, etc. Granted, I have absolutely no idea how this would be implemented.[/QUOTE]
At the 2nd and 3rd A/E level, performance is evaluated aboard ship. The less qualified will not get permanent jobs or, in the worse cases, get fired. The good ones get on permanent and develop a reputation and a network that keeps them getting jobs. At the C/E and 1 A/E the company gets involved but still mostly with feedback from the crew.
It’s not in anyone’s intrest to have incompetent mariners, certainly not the union’s or the ship crews. Of course there will always be some around, same as anywhere.
[QUOTE=cajaya;181945]Yes it is. 100% different…when it comes to that anyway.
I have heard some things about MEBA as well. Just not as rampid and obvious as in the SIU.
I love how the “donations” to the Political Action Fund work in the SIU. They take it out of your vacation check without prior consent, then if you check the little box that says you dont want to contribute anything more than what they will already take, the patrolman, who has the power to really screw you over when it comes to job placement, can be very “persuasive” that you absolutely have to “donate” more.
Or it may have been that they wouldnt send in the form for you to get your money at all unless you signed under where it said you acknowledged that they were going to take out the initial amount. Either way it still sort of felt like extortion since you couldn’t get your vacation check at all without agreeing to “donate”.
I wonder how those numbers compare to the number of people sitting around at all the halls accross the nation cumulatively. Or the number of members they currently have vs. the the total number of jobs they currently have. That would be very interesting information to know. It would be interesting to see if they would ever post something like that on their website…like right on the apprenticeship information page. Maybe someone should propose a bill about union transparency…I think I just might write to my congressperson…[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;178954]but all unions should chime in so we can all benefit from the information.[/QUOTE]
I doubt we will hear much from MFOW, SUP or IBU. People that have been and are in good situations don’t go online to complain, IBU was the best union I ever dealt with. Minimal B.S. Mostly it just seems that with IBU promotions and advancement were handled in the correct way. And there was no extortion, any funny bussiness, going to union halls or union reps to deal with.
[QUOTE=cajaya;181945]IBU was the best union I ever dealt with. Minimal B.S. Mostly it just seems that with IBU promotions and advancement were handled in the correct way. And there was no extortion, funny business, waiting in union halls or union reps to deal with.[/QUOTE]
My only experience with IBU has been with companies that hire people then require that they join the union and the union had nothing to do with promotion. That removes most of the BS that people complain about.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;181953]At the 2nd and 3rd A/E level, performance is evaluated aboard ship. The less qualified will not get permanent jobs or, in the worse cases, get fired. The good ones get on permanent and develop a reputation and a network that keeps them getting jobs. At the C/E and 1 A/E the company gets involved but still mostly with feedback from the crew.
[/QUOTE]
When you say “get fired”, do you mean sent back to the hall from the ship? Or, do you mean kicked out of the union?
I’m also confused on the permanent jobs detail. How does that work? I thought the union provided flexibility allowing people to work when they wanted to (assuming they have the seniority).
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;182002]My only experience with IBU has been with companies that hire people then require that they join the union and the union had nothing to do with promotion. That removes most of the BS that people complain about.[/QUOTE]
I agree. Not all their regions operate that way though. The company can only hire directly if there isn’t someone sitting in the hall. As one may imagine, their best contracts are the ones that are hard to be a part of.
[QUOTE=johnny.dollar;182003]I’m also confused on the permanent jobs detail. How does that work? I thought the union provided flexibility allowing people to work when they wanted to (assuming they have the seniority).[/QUOTE]
The senior officers are usually permanently assigned to a specific vessel on a fixed rotation (Master, Chief Mate, Chief Engineer, and First Assistant Engineer) and some companies hire all their officers on a permanent rotation, instead of getting random crap from the hall
[QUOTE=johnny.dollar;182003]When you say “get fired”, do you mean sent back to the hall from the ship? Or, do you mean kicked out of the union?
I’m also confused on the permanent jobs detail. How does that work? I thought the union provided flexibility allowing people to work when they wanted to (assuming they have the seniority).[/QUOTE]
It varies by union / contract and so forth. In general when someone gets fired they are paid off and travel is at their expense. They may not be allowed back to that company for a period of time (one or two years). Mariners that get fired often look for a safe niche somewhere or leave shipping. Some offenses will lead to being kicked out of the union.
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;182007]The senior officers are usually permanently assigned to a specific vessel on a fixed rotation (Master, Chief Mate, Chief Engineer, and First Assistant Engineer) and some companies hire all their officers on a permanent rotation, instead of getting random crap from the hall[/QUOTE]
The deep-sea shipping companies benifit from having a pool of mariners that are ready to go to sea on short notice. MSC uses a similar pool but they have to pay everyone.
The hall is a good option for members that want a flexible schedule. It also works for mariners that have lost their job, ship scrapped, sold or whatever and want to go back to work without having to submit resumes etc.
Getting on a ship through the hall is a good way to get your foot in the door and to prove yourself on the ship without the approval of a company HR person or some ring knocker.
No system that uses human judgment to hire / fire / promote is going to be perfect.