MARAD is clueless... and are the unions too?

Professional Mariner Forum
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Check out MARAD’s “Mariner Workforce Strategic Plan” for “Recruitment, Training, and Retention of Credentialed American Mariners”:

https://www.maritime.dot.gov/sites/marad.dot.gov/files/2024-02/MARAD%20Mariner%20Workforce%20Strategic%20Plan%20FY23-27.pdf

NOT ONCE IN THIS 22 PAGE DOCUMENT DO THEY MENTION INCREASING PAY OR WAGES. Would that not significantly help with recruitment and retention? Yes. Of course it would. That’s why the GOM companies have been significantly upping pay over the past few years. It’s why the SUNY Maritime Admiral recently posted this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C31H0HrqT1_/

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Turns out the head of MARAD Ann Phillips has been hanging out with the likes of Sam Norton of OSG who wants to replace US Mariners with foreigners. - So far this year OSG has posted pictures with Phillips 4 different times on instagram.

But what really concerns me is this - The report credits the following Union leaders for “insight”:

American Maritime Officers (Capt. T. Christian Spain, Vice President, Government Relations), International Longshore and Warehouse Union (Mr. Jay Ubelhart, President, Inlandboatmen’s Union), International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots (Mr. Glen Paine, Executive Director, MITAGS), Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (Mr. Adam Vokac, President),
Marine Firemen’s Union (Anthony Poplawski, Union President and Training Trustee, and Ms. Sandra
*Serrano, Secretary/Training Coordinator),
Sailors’ Union of the Pacific (Mr. Dave Connolly, President; Ms. Berit Eriksson, Workforce Development Director, Andrew Furuseth School of Seamanship),
Seafarers International Union (Mr. Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President; Mr. George Tricker, Vice President, Contracts; Mr. Bart Rogers, Assistant VP Harry Lundeberg School; Ms. Priscilla Labanowski, Director of Vocational Training and Education, Paul Hall Center; Mr. Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters; and Mr. Mark Von Siegel, Piney Point Port Agent)

Not one of them mentioned wages??? Really?

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Dont know how to tell you this bossman, but MARAD doesnt have shit to do with industry pay, except for what they negotiate on MARAD ships. It would be very Unamerican for the federal government to set wages for jobs outside their control.

Im not saying their plan is a great plan, but at least it’s there. It would make a lot more sense to throw $200,000 at something like the AMO tech program in an effort to get more than like 8 people in a class, rather than spread $200,000 across the crew of one ship.

The main problem I see with the sealift need is:

This optimistic scenario assumed that all qualified mariners would be both available and willing to sail.

How many folks who are on vacation from their coastwise tanker job are going to answer the call to get sunk off Yemen? They just got their first kill today, are you going to give up a Sabine to Tampa run for a chance to be their second?

I think we’re fucked.

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What’s the concern?

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For the right money, I’d take an LMSR into Odessa, or Eilat for that matter.

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Frankly I’d take that over coastwise tanker

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Was about to say the same thing.

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