Would suggest you contact AMO directly at headquarters if you have had a problem. Singleing out AMO, not taking action against the alledged predator is perhaps not the best path. I can assure you the President of AMO does not tolerate that behavior as described and if it is well documented on your part, by all means proceed.You joined this site about 30 minutes ago. Your credibility or reason for posting this will be scrutinized, but with hard facts, may/should get an ear.Any kind of harrassment is not tolerated, in any of the unions, or by the majority of mariners who are non-union.
I’ve been on this site for years. Just don’t want to associate myself with this website as if I am involved. I just read the whole thing and it’s really a call to action so i’m going to post links to it from this account instead of from my normal account.
IMO, the call is past due & should have been made shortly after each one of the alleged offenses took place. It makes absolutely no sense & serves no purpose (except maybe for personal ones) to rack up a long list of bad behavior then post them anonymously? No where in the linked article did the alleged victim describe any steps she took with Mass Maritime, the companies or union to remedy the situations. I’m a mid-40’s male & I’m not going to let any racist or sexist bullshit happen anywhere near me without it being logged, addressed & remedied because it’s too much of a liability to let even one slight misunderstanding slide. I know scores of other officers who feel the same way. Where in the heck has this lady been working? It’s almost impossible to believe that she didn’t have any legitimate, safe avenues of recourse & feels she has to leave the industry over the “crude nature” of it? I know racism & sexism is real & people are still victimized but from my personal maritime experiences I know there’s tons of decent people both onboard & shoreside who wouldn’t let shit like she describe go on or be swept under the rug.
Oh great, here come the armchair quarterbacks to explain what she should/have/needs to do…
How else are we supposed to grow, improve & prevent bad things from happening if we don’t analyze & discuss them? She told her story, some one else linked to it. Are we supposed to have a moment of silence & pretend it never happened? If you are afraid or feel uncomfortable discussing racism & sexism by all means don’t.
You said it yourself, you’re a mid 40’s White guy who’s been sailing a while. You saying what you would do or what should be done might not exactly be the same solution for a young, inexperienced, female officer.
I’ve made it very clear on previous threads I am all for a discussion about racism/sexism in this industry and I think it’s important to do. I just don’t agree with the older white guys on here trying to tell someone who is not what they should do. It’s easy to sit here and say “report it, log it, get it remedied” or not to believe there “wasn’t a safe avenue”. It’s been discussed in hundreds of articles and almost every sexual harassment/assault training class I had in school that people are uncomfortable reporting for many many reasons.
There are many resources to explore in these cases. As you may or not remember,USMMA was shut down shipping cadets until all the Jones Act carriers submitted plans to combat this problem. One study showed on the various campuses the behavior was more prevalent at the schools themselves,not the vessels. The cadets/present sailors are encouraged to come forward immediately to their respective schools and companies. The Jones Act carriers have a similar reporting and investigating process… What advice do you have Beer Captain?
People are typically embarrassed to admit these things even happen so that’s why they don’t get reported…you’d be embarrassed too if it happened to you. That’s the nature of it. It’s uncomfortable and embarrassing in the extreme.
Anyways one aspect of this I always think of is how the maritime industry gets singled out. This type of harassment is just as rampant in say a camp of rig hands, a structural steel shop, a refinery, or a military outpost. All of these are “crude” working areas where sexual harassment, hazing, rough language and even assault to other workers is done all the time. It’s not right but it is the truth. I think ladies need to understand what they are getting into. We are just now facing the fact that in 2020 women are harassed just as badly in the US military as they were in 1985…the one place where they have been working for decades with mandatory education to root it out. That’s telling.
It’s not just me & other old white dudes telling victims of racism & sexual harassment to report it as soon as it happens. It’s the placards posted in the lounge, in the SMS manuals, in the classes we are required to take & teach. We are told to report it, log it remedy it from QHSE people, CEO’s, politicians & celebrities non-stop. We are trained on reporting it, logging it & remedying it every quarter in lengthy shipboard meetings. If you or victims of racism & sexism are still afraid to report it, log it & remedy then perhaps you are the problem? I’m a middle aged white dude & begging as LOUD as I can. PLEASE REPORT AS SOON AS IT HAPPENS! Don’t sucker punch me, my ship or company 6 months later. Don’t blame middle aged people who are trying to use the tools in place to stamp this nonsense out. Blame the bastards doing it & the people who are not reporting it, letting it continue to live in our industry.
Yes, I remember the stand down. Sexual harassment/assault is very prevalent at the Academy’s, that’s not news to anyone who went to one.
Here’s the thing, I’ve only sailed on 7 different ships. There has been a sexual assault/harassment claim on 4 of them. The problem wasn’t the claim, it was the fact that the Captain/Chief either butchered the investigation to kill it, flat out ignored the accusation, or said “yep, this happened, stay away from each other”. The guys who were accused had a history of assault/harassment, yet they were still around to continue doing the same shit.
So what’s my advice? Get rid of the shit heads in the industry and stop protecting them and allowing them to continue doing what they’re doing. You can’t tell me when you got on a ship you didn’t know who had a reputation. Everyone knows who they are, yet they’re still out there. You’re not infuriated by that?
And you wonder why people aren’t coming forward with their stories and logging it? Because it’s pointless, you get a reputation as nuisance or trouble maker or people just simply stay away because they don’t want a problem. It’s not a good headspace to be in when you’ve got a 4 month hitch ahead of you.
Well said Sand Pebble.
You’re right, and I shouldn’t have reacted as quickly as I did with the snarky comment. It’s not every middle aged white guys fault. And I’m sure you’re a good person who genuinely doesn’t want shitty people out there continuing to do this.
My point is that, yeah, reporting it is ideal. But that clearly isn’t happening for a variety of reasons. However, saying maybe the VICTIMS are the problem sure as shit is not the answer. I said earlier the many different reasons people are afraid to report. It’s great that on your ship people don’t have to worry about that kind of treatment, however elsewhere they do.
Am curious Beer Captain, what did you do to help this person or any other person, male or female to report this in a timely manner ? You as an officer I think know the rules and what were you waiting for? You say you’ve seen it on 4 of your 7 trips. From a not middle aged white guy.
Good for her, the maritime industry definitely needs a #metoo, it is rife with this type of nonsense. I hope people get exposed, and are held accountable for what they have done. It’s time for the maritime industry to change and come out from under its rock.
Oh, and “ladies should know what they are getting themselves into”?? That is absolutely absurd, that comment alone shows the ignorance out there, they should not have to worry about working in any industry in the 21st century. We all need to do better, and many of us here need to. Person up, and change the mentality.
Welcome to the forum Ryan.
“First chuckle of the day, thank you sir”
Read again what I wrote. I 100% advocate for sexual harassment/assault survivors. Women (and men) all over are saying these things are still happening. They DO need to know that they are entering a minefield, before they enter it. It’s still happening even in areas where employees have been subjected to decades of mandatory reporting, education and enforcement.
Or you can pretend it’s not happening anymore because of the 21st century and let them take it head on.
I think if AMO, other unions or companies have a problem with senior officers sweeping racism/sexism under the rug to protect predatory crewmembers perhaps 3rd party or QHSE should be used remotely on a regular basis to get rid of offenders? Have all oncoming crew read & sign a sexual harassment/racism statement with the Master or C/M while on a conference call with QHSE or 3rd party. Have a follow up meeting/conference call in the middle of their contract & the last call at the end of their contract. If the 3rd party/QHSE hears the same names coming up then they know there’s a problem. This could weed out the predators or make them change & would force victims & bystanders to officially declare any acts of racism/sexism. During the conference call ask the crewmembers if they thought they seen even borderline racism/sexism so small fires could be put out before they get big.
The union heads, the companies & professional mariners don’t want anything to do with racism/sexism. We can fix this problem. This problem needs less complaining & more solutions.
Racism and sexual harassment is rife in the maritime industry as a whole and not just limited to institutions mentioned in the article.
To say things like “Ladies need to understand what they are getting into” is a bullshit excuse that allows such shitty behaviour to continue.
Also saying that there is procedure in place to “Report it, Log it and Remedy” enables everyone to be unaccountable and is based on an old school management style that allows people to be faced with these issues.
The problem is not new and has been ingrained in the culture since day one, where “rough talk” has even become a habit and racist and sexually harassing behaviour and action can so easily be brushed aside as a joke or a misunderstanding, making people feel powerless against such action.
The fact of the matter is a Seafarer wants to leave the sea because she doesn’t want to deal with the toxic environment - this is a tragedy and totally unacceptable!!
We as Seafarers need to call people out, talk about it and change the culture as a whole, taking that uncomfortable action and make any racist, sexist talk and action unacceptable in the work place.