M.E.B.A. Officers, Deck and Engine, are among the most respected and well-trained professionals in the maritime industry.

Our contracts lead the industry not just in wages and benefits, but in work rights and protections, coupled with one of the nation’s premiere defined benefit pension plans -  M.E.B.A. helps you seize the American dream.

Welcome and thanks for coming here to learn more about M.E.B.A.  On this site you will find plenty of information about our job opportunities and the various M.E.B.A. Plans that provide great stability and generous returns to you and your family.  

M.E.B.A. began organizing the ATC and OSG Deck Officers because some of you approached us, saying that the lack of a Contract allowed OSG/ATC to shortchange the Deck Officers during and after COVID.  M.E.B.A. began by educating the fleet about our benefits and protections, so the Deck Officers could make an informed decision on what was best for them.   Unfortunately, in poor taste, after reading about M.E.B.A.’s campaign, the MMP launched a competing campaign, raising the risk that pro-union votes get split, resulting in an anti-union plurality and giving the company precisely what it wants: no union, no contract and unilateral control. 

This website will provide details on why M.E.B.A. is the superior choice.  The M.E.B.A. is the larger Union, and offers considerably more jobs and opportunities, including almost as many deep sea Deck Officer billets as MMP.  M.E.B.A. is an assertive representative which actively defends our members and ensures quality workplaces and conditions.  For instance, our contracts protected our Mariners during COVID layups/layoffs, and the M.E.B.A. was the ONLY maritime Union to challenge the employers’ unilateral vaccine orders and force them to pay members who got vaccinated, thereby simultaneously ensuring protection for our membership plus a fair premium.  At some employers, this required that M.E.B.A. pursue expensive litigation, which we won. 

Our Defined Benefit Pension Plan is fully funded and provides a MUCH HIGHER payout than the MMP hybrid pension plan.  The Medical Plans and Training Plans of both Unions are good, and while these M.E.B.A. Plans are modestly better than MMP’s, there is no question that the M.E.B.A. Plans are better funded and will stand the test of time.  The most important take away from this letter, however, is that there is little chance that OSG/ATC will ever become party to the MMP Pension Plan, leaving its members in the OSG plan. Both the OSG/ATC and MMP retirement plans are far inferior to the M.E.B.A. Plans, but the lack of being part of a portable Pension Plan negate any possible benefit of a deck officer joining the MMP. In contrast, M.E.B.A. is in the enviable position of having ALREADY signed OSG/ATC onto all the M.E.B.A. Plans, including the M.E.B.A. Pension Plan, making that first Deck Officer contract with OSG/ATC much easier to achieve and much more lucrative for the Deck Officers. Then if the Deck Officer ever decides to move onto other types of vessels or other companies, they take the M.E.B.A. Pension with them and continue building on it so they have the option of full retirement after only 20 years of work.

In closing, please review the information on this site, ask any and all questions you may have.  I encourage you to choose M.E.B.A. for the prosperity and security of you and your family.