So I am looking seriously at a licensed engineer position at McAllister of New York but I am a little hesitant after seeing all the negativity about the company on here and it being “the bottom of the barrel”. I understand that people may be ticked because of the big layoffs they did last year and now they are hiring, but are they really that bad? I know they have an older fleet, but that is fine if they spend the money to maintain them and keep them nice. Are their boats piles of junk? I have spoke to several people there and so far I am impressed. They are willing to pay the majority of my round trip travel to and from Seattle (I would have about $200 per ticket out of pocket per 3/3 hitch.) Pay is good as are benefits a nd I expressed my concerns about possible layoffs and was told as a licensed engineer, I wouldn’t have to worry about layoffs since even if they lay off the other crew, they like to keep an engineer on the the boat even if it is not working. That sounds pretty good to me. I did tell them that this is not a decision that I am taking lightly and that I would want to fly out and meet them in person and check out their vessels and operations for myself. They seemed fine with that. My other option is to go locally with Dunlap Towing, a smaller outfit with slightly less pay and less of a steady schedule but I have seen nothing negative about them at all compared to all the negativity about McAllister. So bottom line, why all the negativity towards McAllister and can anyone comment on the condition of their boats? Any suggestions for me in deciding which way to go would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
[QUOTE=dezlpwr;72252]So I am looking seriously at a licensed engineer position at McAllister of New York but I am a little hesitant after seeing all the negativity about the company on here and it being “the bottom of the barrel”. I understand that people may be ticked because of the big layoffs they did last year and now they are hiring, but are they really that bad? I know they have an older fleet, but that is fine if they spend the money to maintain them and keep them nice. Are their boats piles of junk? I have spoke to several people there and so far I am impressed. They are willing to pay the majority of my round trip travel to and from Seattle (I would have about $200 per ticket out of pocket per 3/3 hitch.) Pay is good as are benefits a nd I expressed my concerns about possible layoffs and was told as a licensed engineer, I wouldn’t have to worry about layoffs since even if they lay off the other crew, they like to keep an engineer on the the boat even if it is not working. That sounds pretty good to me. I did tell them that this is not a decision that I am taking lightly and that I would want to fly out and meet them in person and check out their vessels and operations for myself. They seemed fine with that. My other option is to go locally with Dunlap Towing, a smaller outfit with slightly less pay and less of a steady schedule but I have seen nothing negative about them at all compared to all the negativity about McAllister. So bottom line, why all the negativity towards McAllister and can anyone comment on the condition of their boats? Any suggestions for me in deciding which way to go would be greatly appreciated. Thanks![/QUOTE]
Where there’s smoke. there’s fire. Promises, promises. They’ll give you the ax just as soon as they would anyone else. They don’t have an “older” fleet; it’s ANCIENT! They buy any old broken-down bucket of rust and send it out on a wing and a prayer. The only money they spend on their boats is the bare minimum it takes to get them away from the dock. They’re gonna pay transportation? Hah! That’s a good one! They’re gonna give you a few bucks to get you here and then you’ll be on your own. It may be a decision YOU’RE not taking lightly, but they sure will. One good thing about McAllister, you won’t be bothered by any needle guns or chipping. Company policy is not to put MORE holes in an already leaky deathtrap.
You’re from Seattle. You know that its a short drive up to LaConner and that Dunlap is a good company with good well maintained equipment, and good crews, including the cooks.
It’s all relative. I’ve worked for places where McAllister would be a step up. They may be bottom of the barrel when compared to a Moran or Reinauer or Penn but there are other companies I would definitely rate lower in the barrel too.
Keep in mind too the travel distance. That burns a whole day on both ends of your hitch so your 21/21 really becomes 23/19 at best. How big is the pay difference with Dunlap? Are you ending up with less because of the extra travel costs? Does McA pay door to door? Are you going to have to pay taxis? That’s about $50 at least each way between Newark airport and their SI yard.
This should get interesting, wheres the popcorn?
Good info guys. I think I will pass on McAllister. Thanks for talking some sense into me. I just heard from Moran and Dunlap is still a very viable option. I can keep my IBU seniority by going with Dunlap and I have heard nothing bad about them!
Port captain/ port eng. and main yard in Everett. Don’t go to la Conner lol.
[QUOTE=jmad;72462]Port captain/ port eng. and main yard in Everett. Don’t go to la Conner lol.[/QUOTE]
I know that… lol thanks for the heads up tho. I am meeting with Dunlap as soon as I get done with my current hitch.
[QUOTE=jmad;72462]Port captain/ port eng. and main yard in Everett. Don’t go to la Conner lol.[/QUOTE]
I know that… lol thanks for the heads up tho. I am meeting with Dunlap as soon as I get done with my current hitch.
They are a good outfit and have pretty steady work year round. Summers are super busy and winters are slower as western Alaska frieght drops off.
I won’t bash McA. Enuff of that on here already.
But I will comment on your IBU time. I FOOLISHLY let my SIU time lapse, and lost just under 10 years (so I WOULD’VE been vested). So now that I am more concerned with retirement than I was in my 20’s I realize I threw away a large chunk of benefit for nothing! If you are close to being vested w/ IBU think about that.
[QUOTE=cappy208;72482]I won’t bash McA. Enuff of that on here already.
But I will comment on your IBU time. I FOOLISHLY let my SIU time lapse, and lost just under 10 years (so I WOULD’VE been vested). So now that I am more concerned with retirement than I was in my 20’s I realize I threw away a large chunk of benefit for nothing! If you are close to being vested w/ IBU think about that.[/QUOTE]
I am 4 years from being fully vested, which is 10yrs. The pension is in “critical status” right now so who knows if it will even be around when I retire… hehe
Highseasharry. I am from Oregon but living in Texas,I have a 1600 ton master towing near coastal,I’m trying to find any kind of a job up there but so far no luck.the only towing I’ve done was for Bering marine in Seattle "six month trip between Seattle and prudohe bay and about 9 months as mate down here. Any ideas? Jim. Would even go as AB
I’ve been with McAllister for 9 years, started out on deck, now running as Mate on a license they paid for.
Ticked because of big layoffs? If I’m not mistaken Moran is the only company in the NE that didn’t lay anyone off, not sure if that still holds true. With the hemorrhaging most businesses have done during this economic cycle I’m surprised so many people find it surprising that there have been layoffs at any company. That said, I haven’t seen an engineer laid off yet.
Why so much negativity? The only non-union major player in NY Harbor and decades worth of bad blood over it (probably not the most accurate or best description, but you get the idea).
A major aspect of your query, their equipment. It truly depends on what boat you get on. A good portion of their equipment is absolute crap and should be used to make a few reefs (I could name names but I won’t). There is no viable preventative maintenance plan but rather a fix it when it breaks approach. Yet there are still some boats in the fleet that manage to operate their own preventative maintenance plan, that’s because of some damn good engineers.
It’s a challenge and a wild ride at times, but for the most part I know what to expect.
Cal, thank you for your valuable insight. It further confirms that I made the right move in staying away from McAllister NY. I was a little concerned when I was talking to the McAllister NY port engineer and when I asked him about their maintenance programs on the boats he was very vague and after that it seemed like he was trying to get me off the phone. The last thing I want to do is sail for a company with an ancient fleet that is not maintained! Thanks to you and everyone else on here for your valuable input on this thread! I tried to get the thanks button to work but it doesn’t seem to be showing up…
Cal they don’t lay off engineers they get payed for 8hrs instead of 12 when they tie boats up.
Well I guess that is better than getting laid off… hehe. It is interesting how they failed to mention that when they told me that even if they have no work for a boat, they leave an engineer on it.
[QUOTE=dezlpwr;72648]Well I guess that is better than getting laid off… hehe. It is interesting how they failed to mention that when they told me that even if they have no work for a boat, they leave an engineer on it.[/QUOTE]
That’s cause somebody has to run the hand operated bilge pump to keep it afloat, lol.
Or they plug the shore power in… Or they just go dead boat!
You wanted an honest opinion, you got one.
Reading posts and people’s opinions of other companies in the area would give you the impression that their equipment is in stellar, well maintained condition. That’s certainly what I was led to believe, even from co-workers at Big Mac. The untouchable was K-Sea, hell those guys were too good to respond to passing arrangements, they would never talk to anyone that worked for the red headed step-child of the industry.
As they were going under I remember coming back to work and seeing two boats on AIS that I hadn’t seen before… Ugawanna… whatever 1 & 2. Two K-Sea boats that been sold to some company in Nigeria. They sat there for months because the USCG determined that neither the vessels, nor the crews brought over to take them to Africa, were sea worthy.
Now out in Workboat… K-Sea fleet condition hurts Kirby.
The grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side of the fence, most often it’s just a matter of how much bovine fecal matter is mixed in with it.