My point being KC- thank you for offering a worthwhile ‘tack’ for this thread. Anybody else have any info/details on this or any other potentially underlying problems.
Pardon my confusion- but I thought ‘articles’ was a written agreement between the master & crew.
Here it is, fresh off the MEBA Website: Home - Marine Engineers Know Better
October 2, 2011
Update on Liberty Lockout: Management and Officers Walking Off
It has not taken long for the actual facts to get out. American Maritime Officers (AMO) President Tom Bethel has misled his membership and they are not pleased. M.E.B.A. appreciates the support of all mariners in the United States Merchant Marine and the labor leaders from around the country.
Bethel has told his membership that that they are doing nothing wrong if they take the jobs on the Liberty ships. In fact, he is even claiming that M.E.B.A. should not be picketing Liberty Maritime Corporation because the M.E.B.A. collective bargaining agreement had expired and M.E.B.A. members were locked out. The fact is that AMO’s collective bargaining agreement with American Steamship Company (ASC) expired this summer at midnight on July 31, 2011 without the parties reaching an agreement. ASC owns and operates 17 ships. On August 1, 2011, AMO went on strike. The M.E.B.A. and all other maritime labor unions did not interfere in the labor dispute between AMO and ASC.
Late Friday afternoon in the Port of Galveston, Texas, a Liberty Maritime Corporation management official walked off the vessel and drove over to the information booth that M.E.B.A. had begun setting up. This person said: “I just spoke with Liberty in New York, and told them I am not going to be part of this – I respect what you folks have to do, good luck.”
On Saturday evening, two U.S. mariners walked off the vessel in Galveston, Texas with their sea bags packed and draped over their shoulders. They had not even been on the vessel for 24 hours yet and obviously they had had enough. This morning, another U.S. mariner walked off the vessel with his sea bag packed and draped over his shoulder. He exited the gate with a nod to the picketers and off he went.
Stand in support with me and maritime labor. Call your friends in the AMO and ask them to do the right thing. In fact, call Tom Bethel on his cell phone and tell him what you think: (202) 251-0349.
In unity and friendship,
Mike Jewell
M.E.B.A. President
Without a doubt those union brothers and sisters are doing the right thing, KUDOS to the AMO Members and the Liberty Manager who walked. I salute you 
Who cares. The unions and the industry for the most part are living in the past. This is a SUBSIDIZED business and guess what the subsidies are drying up. There is no good reason to fly an American flag on the back of a ship right now. Cutting costs is the reason for Liberty’s decision…nothing more. What happens when you you take a pay cut, or wake up and gas is 4 bucks a gallon? What do you do? Start buying keystone light instead of heiniken. This is a fiscal decision. I feel for the Meba guys …but remember what they did to AMO on the lakes 2yrs ago SSDD.
This is the 21st century and the unions are living in the 20th.
[QUOTE=delphi;55879]Who cares. The unions and the industry for the most part are living in the past. This is a SUBSIDIZED business and guess what the subsidies are drying up. There is no good reason to fly an American flag on the back of a ship right now. Cutting costs is the reason for Liberty’s decision…nothing more. What happens when you you take a pay cut, or wake up and gas is 4 bucks a gallon? What do you do? Start buying keystone light instead of heiniken. This is a fiscal decision. I feel for the Meba guys …but remember what they did to AMO on the lakes 2yrs ago SSDD.
This is the 21st century and the unions are living in the 20th.[/QUOTE]
Since when is it “living in the past” if workers want to bargain for a fair wage or a benefit. I’ll tell you what living in the past is: it is letting these corporations start dictating to us like we are all back on the plantation.“In the past” no unions were allowed and people literally died to fight for the right of the working man and woman to have a seat at the table. Laws were passed that guaranteed that right. After that we had a middle class in the USA but sadly the middle class is now disappearing.
When the workers right to organize and bargain for a contract like any other entity does is destroyed we’ll be in an oligarchy with no middle class, we’re getting close now.
Thank you delphi for stating the obvious- and i mean that sincerely.
This incident isn’t causing any immediate pain for me & my family or friends- nor am I/we reaping any benefits. So for the sake of honesty- I’m not really upset about the whole thing. That being said- I feel for my fellow mariners- and I realize it could have been my turn this time too. I also realize that the bigger the picture and the longer our time frame- the more common and mutual our interests become- regardless of union or non union affiliation. So in response to the original intention of this thread- MEBA asking AMO not to cross the line- that doesn’t really involve me so I can’t really help you there. However- thanks to GCap- we have a forum to communicate & discuss & find common ground. I’m not confident this is the most effective way to confront and/or correct immediate problems & issues like this one- but I do believe it might be the best thing we have to discuss & disagree & contemplate & navigate our future course- again- regardless of our union or non-union affiliation. I think a good starting point is for us to understand that our ultimate affiliation is to our individual selves and families. I hate to be the guy who always gets philosophical on everyone- but if we can agree the “ends”- then maybe we can have a worthwhile conversation on the “means”.
Liberty’s bulk carriers operate primarily in the PL-480 cargo preference trades, carrying U.S. government impelled cargoes to ports around the world.
So, this means this company derives its money from the govt for their cargo, and more than likely get more money from the MSP trough. Where’s the NLRB on this one. They did a number on Boeing for their employees. Wonder what the AFL CIO are going to do. Good job AMO for electing this scumbag. Just a whore lining his own pockets. Will SIU cross the picket line? “And when we stand united, no one can take us down.”. Michael Sacco, Seafarers Log, Sept 2011
Delphi, guess you wouldn’t mind waking up on your ship some morning, getting booted off and having some foreign national replacing you. Heck, the company is only saving money in these hard economic times, and that guy needs to feed his family.
Thanks to gCaptain, my son just found out he lost his job. He got off a Liberty ship a week ago and hadn’t heard a thing from anyone. Nothing like finding out on Facebook. I guess it’s back
to the hall or applying to MSC.
Tengineer,
I don’t think we are approaching a situation where the worker’s right to organize and/or bargain for their position is jeopardized…yet. My statement “living in the past” was directed at the pathetic state of affairs in OUR industry right now. As JBM.PDX asks, does anyone know anything about the circumstances that led to this situation? I don’t…but I’ll take a stab at it.
Liberty has always been predominately a PL-480 company, and one of the most profitable due to the quality/size of its tonnage. PL-480 is a program who’s funding comes from the Dept. of State(USAID) and USDA(Agriculture Subsidies) . Anyone who’s been paying attention to the national debate lately can see the threat that these types of spending programs (subsidies) are under. Liberty as a direct benefactor of these subsidies will face further difficulties as they get smaller.
The Maritime Security Program(MSP) is a great idea on paper. It offers a reasonable offset for operating a vessel under the US Flag. However it requires a substantial partner to provide the proper tonnage to meet the prerequisite, see Maersk Line Limited, Whalenius Lines, Hoegh Autoliners(Maersk), NYK Lines, APL(NOL), et al. The short term cash flow offset is great for the “citizen” company that is “operating” the specific vessel, ultimately good for you and me ‘cause it makes jobs and it offers all those companies I mentioned above access to US preference cargo……Except this subsidy does not work if the vessel in question expects to pay the bills on US preference cargo only. It only works if there is a larger more substantial liner network for it to plug into and generate revenue the rest of the time, again see the above companies and notice they are all large liner operators. Has anyone notice what happened in the shipping business and more specifically in the liner trades the last two years?..……not so good. Add this to the US’s reduced strategic sealift requirement (we’re winding down 2 overseas wars) AND that the MSP pie got sliced up into a few more pieces recently; in other words the business is shrinking and the number of operators is increasing. By the way Liberty has 3 vessels enrolled in MSP.
The Jones Act a.k.a. the holy grail of the US Flag. This legislation is wrecked beyond all means. Who is building new ships in the US? And don’t say OSG. Those ships were barely built in the US. If THAT is the new model for US domestic commercial deep draft construction then this law(s) is/are truly broken. How about the last three oil companies that tried to build ships in the US? Ask Conocophillips(Avondale) or BP/ATC(Nassco) and ExxonMobil……oh wait there’s a reason XOM is number one…they’re smart enough to stay away from the Jones Act trade.
So our current subsidy environment sucks, but that’s only half the story. What about the subsidies from yesteryear. Let’s go back to the 20th century.
Operating differential subsidy(ODS) was one of the largest direct subsidies to the industry and it quickly became one of the biggest scams. Look at the current operation, maintenance and repair of the MARAD vessels as an example, albeit on a much smaller scale, of how inefficiency and scam can become the norm. Well big labor KNEW this and just as the Owners were getting their piece from the Fed, the Unions wanted their piece via the companies, and they “negotiated” some sweet contracts. The best part was this was a collaborative effort, the more Labor wanted the more Management would go to the gov’t and the more everyone would get. There was a lot of scamming going on under this subsidy and by and large the Industry couldn’t get their collective shit together to keep it going and the plug was pulled in ’81. Look how many companies went belly up in the early ‘80’s. Part of this was the due to the end of ODS and part was due to horrible management, read USLines.
Construction Differential Subsidy(CDS) was another sweet scam that more specifically involved the shipbuilders, but it bred a lot of the same inefficiencies, it was shut down in’82.
The point is the Unions are still trying to “negotiate” or “ bargain” with a mentality that is somewhat derived from the time when these subsidies where alive, and things have changed. Take a broader look at our country, what are we going to do? Blindly DEMAND a higher wage for a job that some one else can and will do better. This comes down to legislation son…….that which our industry EXISTS on. We need to collectively demand for better legislation. I blame the Union(s) just as much as I blame Liberty if not more.
Tengineer,
I don’t think anyone is against our right to bargain, we just have to be careful what we bargain for. A company like Liberty(or some others) could just as easily hang another flag on the back and call it a day.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;55920]Liberty Maritime Corporation Announces Change in Union Affiliation - from gCaptain[/QUOTE]
Good article gCaptain
[QUOTE=delphi;55879]I feel for the Meba guys …but remember what they did to AMO on the lakes 2yrs ago SSDD.
This is the 21st century and the unions are living in the 20th.[/QUOTE]
As I was reading the same thought came to mind. Reverse the names and it would read the same as it did back then.
[QUOTE=Tugs;55940]As I was reading the same thought came to mind. Reverse the names and it would read the same as it did back then.[/QUOTE]
Was AMO affiliated with the AFL-CIO at that time?
K.C…
No. And MEBA still paid out millions to settle the lawsuit brought on by the AMO/ SIU
Here’s the latest from PR Web I found
(PRWEB) October 04, 2011
This weekend, Liberty Maritime Corporation (Liberty) locked out members of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A.) from their jobs. In response the M.E.B.A. is conducting peaceful demonstrations in protests of Liberty’s decision, and is asking for support from fellow maritime unions. The M.E.B.A. also received news that two separate American Maritime Officer (AMO) crews have already experienced difficulties in operating the vessels. M.E.B.A. members began protests in Louisiana and Texas where Liberty’s bulk cargo carrier vessels are moored. A picket line was thrown up Saturday at 12:01 a.m. after the contract with the company expired. Despite multiple attempts on behalf of the M.E.B.A. to negotiate a new agreement with Liberty, the company signed an employment contract with the AMO.
M.E.B.A. President Mike Jewell commented on the situation as he stood on the picket line in Louisiana: “MEBA listened to Liberty, took all their economic and government affairs arguments into consideration, agreed that now is not the time for a labor dispute, and accepted their final economic proposal. When we conveyed this acceptance to Liberty the silence on the other end of the phone from CEO Philip Shapiro was deafening. We later learned that Liberty had signed a contract with the AMO.”
For years the M.E.B.A. officers worked diligently aboard Liberty vessels supporting humanitarian efforts, and the economic and national security goals of the United States of America by carrying “Food for Peace” cargo. This government impelled cargo may now fall behind its delivery schedule as the AMO crews are having trouble starting the main engines on the ships docked in Louisiana and Texas. M.E.B.A.’s dedicated workforce provided Liberty with excellent service since the company was formed in 1988. Current and past M.E.B.A. Administrations always supported Liberty’s political and legislative positions.
For updates on the M.E.B.A. protests please visit http://www.mebaunion.org.
About the M.E.B.A.:
The M.E.B.A., America’s oldest maritime labor union, supplies U.S. Coast Guard licensed deck and engineering officers in both the U.S. domestic and international trades. The Union was established in1875. Its members serve aboard tugs and barges, fireboats, research vessels and in various capacities in the shoreside industries. In wartime, M.E.B.A. members have sailed in virtually unarmed merchant ships delivering critical defense cargo despite attacks from enemy aircrafts, submarines and warships. In times of peace our members still face dangers such as piracy on the high seas in order to best serve their country.
Yes they were part of the AFL-CIO by mere days though, under I believe the SIU Charter. That is why they had the Article XX. In regards to the Interlake Issue.
AMO has such a bad rap here it isnt even funny. I have 9 years in and yes AMO still has a Pension and a Defined Contribution Plan.
What I would really like to see up here is the facts about the turnover, we have to assume there was a wage drop but I heard the pay and it was pretty good for top billets. I would like to know how much the MEBA people made though.
Look at Liberty’s posting, they still had a wage increase. Yes I agree that times are changing for unions but I almost feel that AMO is an employment agency for me to work on different ships and get all my training.
I thought about going non union and saw some okay company’s, so not so okay companys. I saw one company would cost my family’s medical over $400 with no issues in our medical, that was without dental and eyes. They wanted me to pay my own way into the the Gulf area everytime only finding out before. My union dues are about $330 a quarter and in that 9 years have gotten great coverage, yes we did lose dental for a couple years. In my due’s all that is covered for me. Look at the mates if you want to move up, I know some mates have wracked up over 20K in training. Union provide’s that for you.
I will be above bashing MEBA for all of this, tough to lose jobs but when your falling down your always reaching for something else. Look at everyone’s retirment, it has changed, so didn’t our plans, MEBA seems to be in denial about this. Be the last dinosaur.
Roger that.
[QUOTE=Snipe79;55974]Yes they were part of the AFL-CIO by mere days though, under I believe the SIU Charter. That is why they had the Article XX. In regards to the Interlake Issue.[/QUOTE]
Incorrect. The MEBA Raid of the Interlake Fleet took place in July of 2003. The SIU affiliation was signed in November of 2003. The Article XX charges were brought not over the 2003 Interlake Raid, but over a 2007 raid of another Interlake Subsidiary, Interlake Leasing III.
[QUOTE=Snipe79;55974] I have 9 years in and yes AMO still has a Pension and a Defined Contribution Plan.
[/QUOTE]
The AMO pension plan is in the process of being terminated; It was closed to new participants on December 31, 2009. I can’t imagine any active member of AMO not being aware of that.
When I get some time I’ll post the entire history of the AMO ex District-2 MEBA, ex BME. What is truly sad however is that this is exactly what the companies want us to be doing; stabbing each other in the back in order to maximize corporate profits.