Jay Wedman Q&A

In our ongoing effort to help inform you so that you can make the right decision for yourself and your families, I am answering questions that have been proposed to me by different OSG mates throughout this organizing drive.

Please continue sharing your questions, and I'll do my best to answer them all.

Q: Do you need any special training or classes to take M.E.B.A. mate jobs off the board?
A: No. All M.E.B.A. deck officer positions require no additional classes or endorsements so you would be eligible to work on them immediately.

Q: Will there be an initiation fee and how much is it? How long will I have to pay it off?
A: No. While there is usually a $4000 initiation fee to new applicants of M.E.B.A. the Initiation fee will be waived for all OSG deck officers currently employed at the time of completion of the contract.

Q: What if I am permanent on one vessel and OSG asks me to fill in on another vessel while I am on vacation, can I do that?
A: Your Choice. If OSG approaches you to work while you are on vacation on any vessel, either your current vessel or another vessel it will be up to you if you would like to do so.

Q: How many other job opportunities are there for mates in M.E.B.A.?
A: Currently we have more than 250 deep sea billets with at least 60 permanent and 190 rotary positions.

Q: What kind of deep-sea ships does M.E.B.A. represent for Deck Officers?
A: M.E.B.A. represents Deck Officers on Containerships, Roll on Roll off vessels, Bulk Carriers, Tanker vessels along with the only deep-sea US Flagged Cruise ship. M.E.B.A. also has a large government fleet of vessels that they provide Deck Officers to.

I know this is a large decision and everyone is anxious to get to the vote but in the meantime keep those questions coming and I look forward to seeing you in person the next time I am out on your vessel.

Best,

Captain Jay R. Wedman