As an AMO member with several years of experience in their operations (as a current member and earlier “observing” during my unlicensed time), I will offer my two cents.
AMO is not all garbage jobs. Just 75%. As previously mentioned, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, but I have yet to hear any sailor say they are overpaid.
AMO Dispatching is hit or miss. I have not had the pleasure of using the deep-sea dispatching method, but have had good luck with the Great Lakes (Toledo) office. Perhaps I will regret disclosing this, but Bruce is very open on what the pay is, if you will work for 30 days or longer, and he will give you an honest opinion on where he sees things playing out. When there IS a list of guys shipping through the hall on the lakes, as a member, I have never waited more than three weeks for a job. They are fair with shipping in order and members over applicants. With several AMO Lakes companies having the same contract, all the jobs are about the same. For Key Lakes, which still pays hourly, I found it decent and better than my deep-sea job by far. The difference with hourly all comes down to how much OT do you want to work (and how much is offered - usually it’s enough).
Having a good friend shipping through MEBA, I can only rely on what he tells me, but doesn’t seem as bad of a deal as most AMO members will portray. Sure, traveling to the hall and the uncertainty of waiting for work isn’t exactly comforting, but is waiting for the phone to ring any better? The differences for you are the out-of-pocket expense in hotel bills and being away from your family, but the MEBA members here can probably fill you in better on those details.
Early in my career as an officer, I chose AMO for the job stability (no rotary shipping unless you f**k up on a ship and are asked to not return) and the option of being hired direct by the shipping companies. In the end it has worked out for me and my situation, but I now regret accepting convenience over cash. I have sailed on ships that would fall apart if not for the regular, returning people, and I have been on ships that could use the rotary system to prevent some from getting too comfortable on “their” homestead.
Both unions employ some very intelligent people as well as the well-known dummkopfs. My opinion is the MEBA takes greater care of their members compared to AMO. AMO has more jobs, but do you prefer quantity or quality? And lastly, not to inflame the readership, but I was a 100% pro-AMO guy until my pension disappeared. I can no longer recommend them as the best option at this point.