There is a high possibility that the following will happen: 5 Patriot pre-position going ROS and the passthrough with MEBA expiring without renewal meaning all Express Vessels are going to be called in the MEBA halls first. Both are set to happen in October 2025.
After the following happens, I feel there will be WAAAYYY many A books and no real opportunities.
Yeah there is some opportunities on tankers but when you do the math it makes sense to switch to AMO or MEBA over sticking it with MMP.
Would it be wise for a junior deck officer to switch from the MM&P to MEBA now to beat the flood of people who may do that in October of 2025?
Plenty of jobs in AMO for you right now if you want, And I think initiation is still on sale. A lot can happen in the next year and a half, though. I have a hunch if someone has you worried about this, someone has an ulterior motive.
How many deck jobs are there in MEBA vs how many deck officers are looking? Plenty of AMO tanker jobs fwiw.
At least you got about a year. Plus, those things rarely happen on time. At least with move to ROS, I can’t speak to the MMP pass through expiration. However with MEBA and AMO’s new agreement it seems like it’d be more likely the two have a reunion.
They had been talking about sending the BOBO class ships to ROS for like 3 years and it looks like only 1 has the trajectory to actually get there, and that was because she caught on fire and they said fuck it we’re not going to fix it. Prior to that I think Lummus was going but she took the mission instead.
With MMP even as an A book you aren’t guaranteed a permanent job. So there is always an inherent risk of staying a junior officer within MMP. You have to move up to a senior officer to get a permanent job.
Depends if you’re able to secure an A Book and a permanent chief mate job with a company that isn’t Crowley/ the express ships or Patriot within the next year. If you can’t make that happen within a year then I understand you’d be in a tough spot. If MMP looses the Patriot ships, Express vessels, and happens to unionize OSG Deckies there would be an excess of A books floating around with a lot of Senior Officers out of work. You might not be able to get an A book for a long time if that scenario happens.
I think if MMP only looses the Patriot ships it will only affect senior officers as Patriot struggles more to fill the junior officer positions on those ships.
Basically all of this ALSO largely depends on what type of vessels and company you want to work on / with.
I agree that it definitely depends on what you are looking for. As for the passthrough agreement with MMP, I can tell you that it’s definitely not going to stay in its current form. It doesn’t change the other passthrough agreement regarding if you can’t fill a spot you can send it to the other union kinda deal. With that being said if some sort of modified version of the complex express ship passthrough survives it will most likely involve all Express ships first being called in MEBA halls.
I highly doubt MEBA will continue to allow MMP to retain permanent positions on those Express Ships if MEBA Deckies aren’t allowed to retain permanent spots on MMP ships. I think there is a lot on both side MMP and MEBA that just want it ended all together.
Therefore if you want to work on the Express ships and get a permanent spot on them I’d make the move to MEBA because you’d beat out any MMP person.
…………who knows maybe if the passthrough doesn’t renew maybe some changes will be made to allow one permanent 3/m and one permanent 2/m on each vessel……
It’s pretty crazy and sad that we have competing groups of merchant mariners set against each other for work opportunities. At a time of historic opportunity for merchant mariners, this just doesn’t fit anymore.
Thank you for all the responses as I evaluate the my next move. We all know the industry goes up and down. At some point there will be a downturn and I just want to set myself up for the future in a financially secure position.
This is exactly what was going through go my mind. Which brought me to ask why would one stay in MMP to compete when there are plenty of historic opportunities elsewhere? Am I going to burn through cash and vacation to chase I job that is a very high likely hood I won’t get? The math doesn’t make sense even for the jobs that I could chase in and get within MMP.
It would definitely be better for the unions to work together and become one officers union.
Are there plenty of mate nontanker jobs with AMO and how easy are those positions to get?
The two Unions definitely have a better relationship now. The new agreement seems to be working. AMO has gotten engineer jobs filled by the MEBA and MEBA has gotten deck jobs filled by AMO. Not to mention they are supporting each other during negotiations and companies can’t play them against each other. This has resulted in big contract wins for both unions. I think a large majority of officers in AMO and MEBA would definitely like to see the two unite eventually. A reunion would literally create the one officers union everyone wants.
For Jr Officers, i just counted 13 non tanker, 11 tanker. Might need goverment vesself for a few of those, but some you can just call dispatch and get today. There is nothing really hard about getting jobs with AMO.
After re-reading my post and reading the MMP weekly wheelhouse, I realized something that I think no one has thought about.
@CarrotSunrise I highly doubt there will be OSG Deckies flooding MMP within the next year with more A books than there already are.
Because even if OSG votes for MMP, like ATC the company will delay years with lawsuits and refused to sign a contract or never sign one at all. (Look at the dish network contract that took them decades). MMP doesn’t have any leverage over the company and it’s not like the MEBA would be inclined to help MMP after pissing them the MEBA off.
Here’s the thing if the OSG Deckies vote for the MEBA. There is a high likely hood they would get MEBA group 1 membership because the MEBA could threaten to strike/ walk off all the engineers if they don’t sign a contract covering the Deckies.
In other words I don’t think you have much to worry about in terms of the OSG unionizing bc the MMP membership is unlikely even if they vote MMP.
However I do think the Army will get rid of the prepo ships eventually and I think also think the Express agreement reached a point of no return.
That’s my opinion at the end of the day follow your wallet. Don’t buy into the ra ra union crap. Someone behind a desk can be just as corrupt as someone behind a phone.
I agree with this quote 100%! I never believed in that whole crap either.
If AMO truly sold jobs then they can only do it once because everyone is a permanent, if MMP sold jobs technically they could do multiple times because there are no permanent junior officers. Having a hall doesn’t make you less corrupt, if people are corrupt they are corrupt.
After talking to more people I do believe MEBA and AMO have better training which is good and if I’m paying Union dues I absolutely want to utilize more. I like how with the MEBA you can take the training anywhere. And everyone is spoke to in AMO no one has ever said anything negative about the training at the STAR center everyone always says it’s the best center.
OH no MMP Is doomed! You are right! You better go to AMO! OMG OMG!
If I was given a nickel every time I have heard these unions are finished and the end is near, I would be rich. As an Engineer, yes MEBA is the best union. I am biased, sorry. I also would never support AMO. Awful union and history. I dont trust them. I was federal MEBA and have sailed relief jobs in the offshore division. MMP and MEBA will be fine. If you are worried about a job go MSC. No problem getting work there Carrot Top.