Called today as im trying to help someone get on the boats and the spots for entry level almost dont exist. Been shopping around myself and yes the jobs are there at the better places in NYC but bring the knee pads and lipstick. The 50 bucks a day to go back to the GOM isnt worth it. Harley, Mac and the Danns are always hiring but thats nothing abnormal. More and more southern boats with 175 a day deckhands working 28/7 makes me kind of shake my head. Had to post this because the O.S shit talking deckhand here thinks he can march down to S.I and get on an oil boat tomorrow, till he started calling and got flat turned down, they didnt even want his resume. 
Those companies know all too well what a Downturn in the Oil Patch does for them. Now with all of the extra B.S. that Wheel House Guys must jump through they should be safe but every other spot is up for grabs. I hope that I’m wrong but only time will tell as more guys that don’t mind working 28+ days on and can bring a bunch of friends with them start heading North.
Yes, because big money oil field guys don’t give a shit about industry wages when cutting eachother’s throats, but are quick to brag about how much money they made in 2013.
You gotta love the hating going on! Has the Northeast’s wages went down? Has there been a big migration of Gulf guys moving back into their old jobs? Did the downturn last year affect your union contract from 2 years ago? The only throat cutting going on is from captains that left Chouest and are now begging and willing to work for $200/day less…just to get back! When the money is back again next year, what are you going to complain about?
[QUOTE=ForkandBlade;161218]You gotta love the hating going on! Has the Northeast’s wages went down? Has there been a big migration of Gulf guys moving back into their old jobs? Did the downturn last year affect your union contract from 2 years ago? The only throat cutting going on is from captains that left Chouest and are now begging and willing to work for $200/day less…just to get back! When the money is back again next year, what are you going to complain about?[/QUOTE]
Employment is more variable when the costs of lay-offs are borne entirely by workers.
What GOM companies do is shift all the risks of lay-offs to the workers. Unemployment insurance and severance pay are low or nonexistent in the GOM. Workers are willing to accept the risk of layoffs because of high day rates.
But in fact GOM mariners don’t bear the risk of layoffs alone. Because they are mobile they can spread the risk to mariners in other places.
Mariners all over the U.S. help pay those high day rates by sharing the risk of a downturn.
Luckily the fishing industry has no place for a captain that cant tow a net or an engineer who cant run a reefer plant. Carry on…
If you have a towing endorsement I know a few good companies that are looking for wheelmen. The problem is local knowledge. You have to have NY harbor experience.
Im not poking fun @ the mariner himself, i think its fucked up that there is a surplus of guys for them to extort into working for wages i was making in 02-03. The quality of people they attract at that wage only makes our deckhands lives harder when doing a job that should take 15mins takes 1hr+15mins to re-do everything. Come on, im the engineer on the boat, life isnt good if im not bitching.