The MPB is separate completely separate than the pension. The company contributes 10+% of base wages into basically a 401k then the company also contributes & is signatory to the pension. I haven’t seen a contract without a MPB contribution but to be fair I haven’t seen every contract in the Union.
However, I do know that not all MEBA contracts are signatory to the MEBA pension plan. I know that the Staten Island ferry guys I talk about above aren’t on the MEBA pension plan because they are on with NYC’s pension.
Gotcha, I think this is how most the industry works. The problem I have with that system is that when your pay goes up your health costs go up accordingly.
The MEBA contracts I have seen work on a per man per day bases that the company pays. So the company pays X amount of dollars per day per man into the medical fund. So the company pays the same amount of dollars per person regardless of position per day for medical. Nothing comes out of the Mariners pay directly to pay for it.
Anyone who watched MMP absolutely rake over their unlicensed division (when they had one) to keep the pension funded in the 90’s and 00’s shouldn’t act surprised. Don Marcus is an unrepentent communist. No surprise that his vision of good management is for everyone to fail together. I had my differences with Tim Brown but he was a better man and a better leader.
That is the low end of the scale, a lot of the other divisions pay a lot more.
I was on ATBs for a long time.Pre transfers, cargo planning, always awake for topping off, stripping, connecting, starting, completions, gauging, SIRE, and then all the sea buoy mate stuff as well. CM is a busy busy job on those ATBs.
OSV CM, drive boat and maybe knock out some payroll or send a couple emails. Might not be much more in pay but WAY LESS workload and stress.
But really it’s all about what you want in your career.
I worked unlicensed for MMP for 3 trips before getting my book, but long story short they bled the unlicensed and took their dues without giving any of the benefits (other than health insurance) available to the officers, and then when the division folded, either froze them out of their 401k (which had 0 match) or made them sign an affadavit swearing to have left the maritime industry for 7 years. MMP also had had serious legal troubles for loaning one of the companies start-up money out of their pension fund in exchange for an ownership stake.
Thanks for the background info. That’s pretty shitty of the union leadership of the time to do. How the hell did they get anyone to agree to leave the industry on those terms? Money?
