Does Centerline pay air tickets?

I wonder if Centerline pays mariners air ticket ?

They have some weird setup where they fly you from one of the “hubs” they have on the list. I think you’re responsible for getting yourself to the hub. Hopefully somebody else has more info.

Here is a loaded question, but my experience with it is a few years old. May have changed by now.

Depends which ‘centerline’ company you work for, and where they are sending you.
OTB had the policy that you had to get yourself to Seattle. If your boat wasn’t in Seattle, they would take some dough out of your check factoring in, somehow, your residence to Seattle. (This was the clincher why I left OTB in addition to a grocery list of other reasons.)

The union guys at Harley ny got a daily per diem for travel expenses, and they were responsible for getting themselves to and from the office in nj. Non union had 100% covered travel but I heard grumblings that depends on the boat and/or person now.

When Harley gulf was crewing and managing the offshore boats and barges owned by apex and stone, travel was covered 100%. They don’t have offshore boats anymore that I know of so not sure what the deal is with the gulf region.

Starlight in the bay gave a travel allowance for the union guys. Not sure if Leo in the bay is doing that now.

I’d hope the PCM guys in dutch harbor get 100% covered travel. Not sure what their arrangement was or is now.

Varies depending on which division you work for, e.g, if you work for OTB they book your ticket for you back to your desired airport, then take the difference of that airfare cost between and what the flight would have costed from Seattle to that airport two weeks out. You pay the difference and it’s taken from your check.

This may be different if you’re on a boat working from Hawaii, for instance but I can’t confirm that only my own experience.

I thought the system was fair and convenient, which is why they do it…because travel can be a last minute thing for us Mariners and a pain in the ass.
Sometimes, depending on the port you fly from and to you won’t pay a dime, other times it may be a hundred or more.

More times than not, I paid $100 or less for a flight.

Why would a company waste more than $100 worth of office staff time to administer figuring out the difference in airfare and deducting a small sum like $100 for travel from a Mariner’s pay? The office staff is not free. The crew coordinators, travel specialists, and accounting staff are busy.

All of that last minute travel is for the employer’s convenience. Why should the employee be paying for any of that expensive last minute travel?

Why would they narrow their potential hiring pool (when they have high turnover and are hiring all the time) with this nonsense.

The only answer I can think of is that they have a bad attitude toward their employees, and they are really committed to nickel and dime their unworthy mariners.

What does Centerline do about food?

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I can see not paying travel if you work on a harbor tug that has consistent crew changes at the home dock, but if a boat goes all over the place it should be paid for by the company. That’s the price of business.

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When I was there during the Harley days, food budget wasn’t a big deal at all. I don’t recall hearing anything about staying under budget or things of that nature. Depended on the Capt and crew.