While the pay is close in the N.W. union vs non-union I can’t help but wonder how our working conditions and pay would be with out having the union around.
[QUOTE=Signal Red;120015]While the pay is close in the N.W. union vs non-union I can’t help but wonder how our working conditions and pay would be with out having the union around.[/QUOTE]
That is exactly what will happen. All it takes is for people to start saying that I will do that for $XXX per day cheaper. Once the bidding war starts it will not end until the pay is so low that no one can afford to work and live in the area. Look how long that it took N.Y. Harbor to recover from the 333 Strike. In 1989 Captains were making $190 per day.
I have always been straight up with saying that I was almost always Union but I do feel that if you work for a smaller company that treats you right than there is no reason for a union, but from what I have seen these are few and far between. Also, until all mariners stop being willing to take a job for less than the person that has it now these companies are going to keep going with whomever is cheaper!
I don’t see that happening with the wage war in the gulf everyone is basing pay of the GOM now not unions.
Thats not true on the east coast. Wages where I work are stagnant at best.
Hmm been a fire sale on the west as companies are loosing people left and right.
Be patient. It’ll happen in the long run.
Dont you need a 1600 oceans license for the west coast companies to even talk to you?
[QUOTE=“z-drive;119794”]Mates at decent companies moving oil make over $600 which is less than the oilfield but have been making decent coin all along, not suddenly in the last few years. Union company harbor tug mates make over $500, and thats not moving petroleum barges.[/QUOTE]
The highest paying NE tug company I know doesn’t pay mates that amount. $500 a day plus $50 per day for travel, maybe, but that is also after lots if training when you are able to run the ATB solo. The $500+ a day for mates in the Gulf is for fresh printed licenses with no experience. And that amount for harbor mates is BS outside of New York harbor, and even there is hard to believe.
Most NY mates are making between $550-$600. Some with the $50 a day travel and some not. Mcallister is in the $400 area not sure about Vane but i think there mates are around $450.
My paycheck disagrees!
Reinauer and Bouchard mates are over $600.
This is from the old-old contract: http://www.reinauer.com/RTCWeb/uploads/ReinauerDailyPay.pdf
[QUOTE=z-drive;120113]My paycheck disagrees!
Reinauer and Bouchard mates are over $600.
This is from the old-old contract: http://www.reinauer.com/RTCWeb/uploads/ReinauerDailyPay.pdf[/QUOTE]
I believe they were talking about the boats that for the most part stay in the Harbor, Docking Ships … I also noticed that that pay also included $50.00 per day for travel. What caught my eye was the statement at the end that everyone got the Travel pay Except for the OS’s. That Bullshit, the lowest pay people do not get travel pay when it costs them just as much as everyone else.
This is a little off topic so I apologize. Back (around 2005) when my company started paying for travel, they would pay for guys to fly from wherever they lived plus they would also pay for a cab from the Airport to the vessel. If you drove they gave a flat $50.00 and we had to pay for the cab from the company parking area to the vessel. This could be as much as $40.00. A lot of guys bitched about it and were basically told take it or leave it as they were not going to change it.
Just Crowley
The new contract that Moran signed with Local 333 has the guys that work on the offshore boats paying their own travel. Might as well subtract the $50/day travel out of your day rate if you have to spend it to get to the boat. Subtracting that, a mate isn’t making much more than an AB at Harvey Gulf!
Yes and those guys who voted in that contract are a bunch of bozos!
[QUOTE=z-drive;120230]Yes and those guys who voted in that contract are a bunch of bozos![/QUOTE]
It would be nice to know how many of the member voted. Back in my day the turn out was usually very low for voting. Now, the fact that they did not vote did not stop them from bitching and moaning about how the new contract sucks. Look at the last Presidential election, you have thought the turnout would have been high but as usual most did not even vote.
[QUOTE=Tugs;120234]It would be nice to know how many of the member voted. Back in my day the turn out was usually very low for voting. Now, the fact that they did not vote did not stop them from bitching and moaning about how the new contract sucks. Look at the last Presidential election, you have thought the turnout would have been high but as usual most did not even vote.[/QUOTE]
Absolutely, rumor was they suddenly did a dues enforcement and didn’t count all the non-payers, no beef with that. But I’ve seen them do it at the yard in the middle of the hitch, and the office knows and can manipulate what boats and who is around. No idea why they can’t do a paper ballot by mail or something. But if your vote didn’t count you need to hit up the labor relations board, big deal if they don’t do anything but your voice should be heard for that crap taking place.
By not paying the OS deckhands travel it encourages them to do something about getting an AB, plus it weeds out the shitheads. Our travel is covered the minute you leave the basin or the yard, that “50 a day” is there so they can say its travel. The guys working down south are the ones taking it in the ass, not the poor deckhands, and somehow nothing compensating us for the extra travel time a hitch could make it into the new contract. We have to many whiny cunts here who can barely do 2-2, you should see the looks on their faces when we proposed 3-3 on a boat strictly working the gulf.
[QUOTE=z-drive;120241]Absolutely, rumor was they suddenly did a dues enforcement and didn’t count all the non-payers, no beef with that. But I’ve seen them do it at the yard in the middle of the hitch, and the office knows and can manipulate what boats and who is around. No idea why they can’t do a paper ballot by mail or something. But if your vote didn’t count you need to hit up the labor relations board, big deal if they don’t do anything but your voice should be heard for that crap taking place.[/QUOTE]
I have heard that AMO has pulled the same shit. A lot of the Tug Guys with permanent jobs have their dues taken out but the company but in the last couple of elections a lot of votes did not count as they said that the dues were not up to date even though it is taken out and paid but the company. Now did they get to the companies and get then to be a little slow? Who knows whether this is what happened or not but I know of a lot of guys that got notices saying that their dues were late but this only happened during the elections.
Most OS’s that work at Moran are on harbor tugs and they change every week or two at noon or earlier right in the yard at statem island, at which time they drive a couple hours home or less. They’re now making 60+. Grand a year with no training, money, or time invested other than BST. Where the logic in that? The OS has no incentive to upgrade to AB
Only 80 ballots were cast in the election which is bullshit considering we have close to 300 fleet personnel. At least this is what the union counted. Most offshore personnel didn’t see the new version of the proposed contract until a week or so before the vote and many never recieved a ballot in the mail to cast a vote. How the hell do you vote if you don’t change at the yard and don’t recieve a ballot.
We now have a petition to de-authorize from 333. An alternative of MEBA or MMP has been brought up. Most guys want to stay union but feel we have no representation. The only people from the boats that were at the negotiations with Keyes and our delegate were OS deckhands and harbor mates who were more concerned with 50 more cents a day for grub even though they split up cash at the end of every hitch. We have a minority of unskilled people negotiating for the majority of highly trained/educated professional people. Just want 333 wants. As long as we sign a new contract, they justify their salary for a few more years.
Exactly. We had 99 in favor, 66 against and 3 void ballots out of 250-ish marine employees. Its kinda sad when the guy on the boat with you desperately needs a 3% raise, but is to stupid to realize that if the medical goes thru the roof thanks to obamacare his raise has just turned into a pay cut. We had alot of good people pushing for us at the negotiations, and I thank them for their time, unfortunately you have a bunch of idiots filling in the ballots.