There should be no arguement as to which union to join. We as an industry are toosmall to support 5 major seafaring unions. There should be one union( national Maritime Union) for lack of a better name with 2 divisions one licensed and one unlicensed with all the associated overhead consolidated onto one operation, one training school and one voice
Going before congress to express
Our view on issues that matter to us. Not multiple talking heads representing a few thousand mariners. We need support all the various industries that support our operations instead of complaining about shipyards or industrial supply base capabilities.
I know this went a little off topic but really… why are we supporting all of this overhead with our limited resources.
MM&P folks-
Would it be possible to join the union and alternate between working out of the hall and taking other (non union) work?
Before you accept full membership and as long as you self report other work which will adjust your card age (very few do), yes this is possible.
What are typical 2M job lengths on the AMO job board these days?
Depends on the type of ship, but you’ll see between 75-120 days as low as 21…
The last 2M job I saw on the board was relief and required Great Lakes pilotage. The only other ones I’ve seen are the once in a blue moon Liberty jobs at 90+ days or ocean ships at 120 asking that your have a security clearance.
Reviving this just because I’m curious. If you have your Chief Mate and a security clearance (open to 2M And 3M work obviously…probably would prefer that to start) which Union would be worth looking at?
Is it hard coming into a union from non-union and figuring it out? totally understand I might be banished with the new grads for a while.
Wouldn’t mind hearing some advice from folks on this too. Left AMO in disgust as an applicant during the McKay indictments but have heard things have changed and might be convinced to go back.
Wasn’t that right after they canceled our dental insurance?
Not if you hold a C/M license.
Not sure about @boat but in my case I’ve been working for a company in the gulf for the past 15+ years… we talking government contracts needing senior officers? I’d have to totally relearn actual cargo ops by dropping down before I’d ever accept a C/M spot these days.
Yup…
With a CM ticket and a secret clearance you’d have a job tomorrow at either Union. So really it comes down to if you want to sit in the hall or not.
With a CM ticket and security clearance you wont have to spend much more than 1 day in a MMP or MEBA hall. Go in to whatever hall is closest to you and complete the sign up paperwork. Then you can take any job you want off the board. Shoot me a message if you are looking to get out with MMP or MEBA. There are lots of former MSC folks sailing on the Watson class ships. If you are former MSC the transition should be a breeze as you will already be familiar with the MSC paperwork side of things.
What about a Master without security clearance?
That’s a little more tricky. Not a ton of masters jobs go to the board, they’re pretty rare. Obviously the more endorsements you have the better. I’m not sure if tankers are hurting for masters but they’re desperate for just about everything else.
Great advice, cheers. I’ll let you know.
There’s plenty of work for you in AMO.
@Capt_Phoenix @Skiing_Salem_Sailor @BeerCaptain are there a lot of prepo ships at both unions? Only thing I wouldn’t wanna do is go sit in port/anchor in Diego or Saipan haha. But a cm gig on something moving around would be great. Feel free to pm me on the side what some of the specific ops are or any recommendations on that front if you don’t wanna post here. I do have a couple years of MSC exp. Really appreciate the feedback!!
What ship do you need a security clearance for?
How do you get a security clearance?
When did this become a thing?
MMP Watson class is primarily prepo, except for the missions now and then. Just acquired two Bob Hope class ships as well, Pililaau and Seay. Same gig as Watsons.
If you want to stay active, MMP has a small amount of MARAD ships as well, run by both Patriot and Matson. The Cape H’s rotate in activations every year, typically FOS for 8 months. Although as CM, you would likely have to stay while the ships are ROS, or get in contact with the company if they need last minute manning for FOS.
In the last few months it has been more feast than famine for CM jobs.