Can anyone tell me what the dues are for the SIU? I am just starting the process to get my Z-card and am wondering what the expenses are going to be. I know the TWIC is about $140, drug screening is $59 and the application fee for the Z-card is about $140 as well.
Thanks in advance!
very negligible, you’ll not miss it …(prob less that $60/month)… just make sure you don’t have auto deduction!, I’d still be a member if the union and the govt. hadn’t misplace about 2 years of dues …’‘we’ll get it back to you’’
[QUOTE=jimrr;129933]very negligible, you’ll not miss it …(prob less that $60/month)… just make sure you don’t have auto deduction!, I’d still be a member if the union and the govt. hadn’t misplace about 2 years of dues …’‘we’ll get it back to you’’[/QUOTE]
Ok, thank you. That doesn’t seem to bad at all. I read somewhere that the union also pays for your courses, does anyone know if that is true? If not I reckon I’ll need to start saving for the STCW-95 course!!
Don’t forget “working dues” and “SPAD” in addition to “quarterly dues”. And if you want to work the better paying ships, you will need to come up with some “cash” for the agent in the local port.
If the union doesn’t pay for STCW training, then what’s the point? Plenty of non-union companies that will pay for classes. Or work for a smaller company that doesn’t, but does not require union dues.
I constantly ask myself, "If unions don’t give you top pay and they don’t provide free training to upgrade/maintain your credentials, then why pay said union for [B]anything[/B].
[QUOTE=RichM;129992]Don’t forget “working dues” and “SPAD” in addition to “quarterly dues”. And if you want to work the better paying ships, you will need to come up with some “cash” for the agent in the local port.[/QUOTE]
I don’t have any experience at all with the unions, so I didn’t know there were “extra” dues associated with them. It doesn’t surprise me though. I tried to look up SPAD and the only thing i could come up with was “payment after discharge”, but again I have no idea what the hell it is. Sounds like the “cash” for the agent at the port is more or less a bribe to get a good ship. I’m starting to wonder if the union idea is necessary…
Yea, I agree. I just don’t know what the answer is, whether or not they are supposed to pay for the courses etc. Just trying to learn about all this stuff.
One of the very few good things about SIU is their in house school. Room and board in very nice facility with great training. Go to seafarers.org and read back through their 'Log" (newspaper) It’s a very ‘rah, rah, look at how great we make things for you’ but you can get a vague idea of what’s what. AMO is the same way. One of the months has their entire school listings for the year. I don’t know the numbers these days (sailed in the '90s with them), but you pay annual dues that are payed quarterly, working dues that come out of your ‘vacation’ check and spad (political action fund) is voluntary. With working dues, you don’t work you don’t pay.
[QUOTE=Texaco;130089]One of the very few good things about SIU is their in house school. Room and board in very nice facility with great training. Go to seafarers.org and read back through their 'Log" (newspaper) It’s a very ‘rah, rah, look at how great we make things for you’ but you can get a vague idea of what’s what. AMO is the same way. One of the months has their entire school listings for the year. I don’t know the numbers these days (sailed in the '90s with them), but you pay annual dues that are payed quarterly, working dues that come out of your ‘vacation’ check and spad (political action fund) is voluntary. With working dues, you don’t work you don’t pay.[/QUOTE]
Thank you, I will definitely check it out!
Just to clarify, I’m not endorsing SIU in any way. Their school and the number of ships they have under contract is about all the positive they have going for them. Other than that, they represent just about everything else that is bad about unions. A lot of threads and posts regarding them and AMO. MM&P, MEBA, SUP and MFOW have their own versions of a newspaper. IMO, SUP & MFOW are the most realistic and the better represented unions. Warning, it is quite difficult getting into deep sea shipping as an OS. If you are new, and any others, there are some great threads started by, and contributed to, ordinaryseaman.
[QUOTE=Texaco;130179]Just to clarify, I’m not endorsing SIU in any way. Their school and the number of ships they have under contract is about all the positive they have going for them. Other than that, they represent just about everything else that is bad about unions. A lot of threads and posts regarding them and AMO. MM&P, MEBA, SUP and MFOW have their own versions of a newspaper. IMO, SUP & MFOW are the most realistic and the better represented unions. Warning, it is quite difficult getting into deep sea shipping as an OS. If you are new, and any others, there are some great threads started by, and contributed to, ordinaryseaman.[/QUOTE]
Thanks again. The reason why I am considering SIU is because I thought that would be a good way to get on the water. After reading more of the posts on the various forums, I’m not so sure that is the way to go. I don’t necessarily need to be on the deep sea, but ultimately that would be the goal. Also, because I am in NY it seemed like SIU was the predominant union. However, I did see some posts that were mentioning “333”. I guess the thing to do is to get my paperwork in and then get some time on the water.
[QUOTE=Skipjack;130224]Thanks again. The reason why I am considering SIU is because I thought that would be a good way to get on the water. After reading more of the posts on the various forums, I’m not so sure that is the way to go. I don’t necessarily need to be on the deep sea, but ultimately that would be the goal. Also, because I am in NY it seemed like SIU was the predominant union. However, I did see some posts that were mentioning “333”. I guess the thing to do is to get my paperwork in and then get some time on the water.[/QUOTE]
Some posters just hate all unions on principle. The SIU might be OK for you or might not. Do your own research and decide.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;130227]Some posters just hate all unions on principle. The SIU might be OK for you or might not. Do your own research and decide.[/QUOTE]
Will do, thank you