Posted:
May 5, 2016
By Paul Doell
National President
In a 90-day secret ballot referendum that concluded April 18, members of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association approved by-law amendments that provide for a quarterly dues increase, a four-year term of elective office and a reorganization of the union's Gulf Coast operation.
The MEBA dues hike - voted upon only by MEBA members already paying the highest rate - amounts to $50 per quarter, bringing the annual total from $400 to $600. This fixed sum is in addition to six percent of the gross amount of each vacation benefit payment each MEBA member receives each year.
A report in the April 21 edition of MEBA's online Telex Times news weekly described the dues increase as "modest," but it did not note the dues assessments deducted from vacation benefits.
"The increase was necessary so that the union's overriding mission - to represent the membership through contract enforcement and job preservation - is not negatively impacted," the Telex Times report said.
A notice mailed to all MEBA members and posted on the MEBA website during the referendum said the membership dues increase can "help counteract the financial toll on the union taken by inflation, cost of living growth and membership decline."
The official resolution proposing the MEBA membership dues increase in October 2015 said these three driving factors had "acted to financially impact the value of our current annual dues receipts." The resolution warned: "Due to existing budget outlays, and without a union dues revenue increase, the MEBA will have to consider further reductions in personnel and outports, which would impact member representation and services."
MEBA had operated "over the past 12 years" with "a budget in varying status, either close to cost-neutral, in surplus or at a deficit, by utilizing union revenue, investment income and reducing costs," the resolution noted. "MEBA has managed to operate more efficiently by controlling costs through reductions in headquarters and outport rent, outport locations, outport operating hours, MEBA personnel, travel costs, IT/communications costs and other administrative costs."
We're flattered to find the MEBA administration applying the new American Maritime Officers model of cost containment and consolidation in its effort to stabilize the MEBA treasury.
But one difference is that AMO achieved balance and financial security while rescinding a 2015 membership dues hike and ruling out a dues increase in 2016. Membership dues in American Maritime Officers - set rates determined by area of employment (deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters) and by shipboard position in the deep-sea and Great Lakes sectors, with no assessments from vacation benefits at any level - remain the lowest among AMO, MEBA and the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots.
Moreover, AMO since January 2015 has had no need to tap "investment income" for operating revenue. Indeed, our union is adding to its investment and savings accounts while holding fast to a growing operating budget surplus.
Nor does AMO rent its headquarters space - our union owns its principal office in Dania Beach, FL, with no mortgage or other debt tied to the property.
Job dispatch systems reflect another distinction held by American Maritime Officers among the three unions. AMO members are assigned to jobs from their homes by telephone, with job openings and registration lists posted daily to a secure members-only section of the AMO Dispatching website.
By contrast, MEBA and the MM&P are encumbered by a network of hiring halls and the costs associated with them (mortgage or rent, maintenance, insurance, property taxes, utilities and salaries) - costs borne significantly by MEBA and MM&P employers under reimbursement agreements. Members of MEBA and the MM&P must register for work in person at one of these halls - some of which are operated jointly by the two unions - and stand by on scene for jobs that may or may not open.
There is more that sets our union apart favorably from MEBA and the MM&P, but the point is made clearly enough here, and in the remarkable opportunities ahead for American Maritime Officers - for new jobs, for additional operating revenue and for additional employer contributions to AMO Plans, especially in the growing Jones Act product tanker fleet. The edge is ours, and we'll wield it wisely.
Terms of office in MEBA
The MEBA membership referendum also yielded a longer term of elective office - from three years to four, beginning with the terms of officials to be elected later this year. These extended terms of official jobs in MEBA will commence on January 1, 2017.
Four-year terms of office would "provide more stability to the MEBA by making the union's election cycle more practical," said the official resolution calling for longer official incumbency.
"The MEBA currently undergoes an officers' election every three years, a process encompassing most of the election year at large cost," the resolution explained, citing credential and tally committee expenses, the cost of an impartial administrator, and the printing and mailing of ballots.
"Three-year terms continue to complicate the union's relationship with employers and give an advantage to our competitors who enjoy longer terms," the resolution added. It said the conforming amendment to the MEBA by-laws to allow for four-year terms "will help strengthen MEBA and save us money." Elected officials in American Maritime Officers already serve four-year terms.
MEBA's realignment
Under the administrative reorganization approved in the referendum, MEBA's Gulf Coast vice president will relocate from New Orleans to Houston, and a branch agent will be assigned to Tampa. New Orleans will be deemed "an informational port," said the resolution proposing the realignment.
As always, I welcome comments and questions on any topic from all AMO members and applicants for AMO membership. I can be reached at headquarters at 800-362-0513 or 954-921-2221 (extension 1001) or on my cell at 954-881-5651.
MEBA vote targets union's troubled financial state
By Paul Doell
National President
In a 90-day secret ballot referendum that concluded April 18, members of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association approved by-law amendments that provide for a quarterly dues increase, a four-year term of elective office and a reorganization of the union's Gulf Coast operation.
The MEBA dues hike - voted upon only by MEBA members already paying the highest rate - amounts to $50 per quarter, bringing the annual total from $400 to $600. This fixed sum is in addition to six percent of the gross amount of each vacation benefit payment each MEBA member receives each year.
A report in the April 21 edition of MEBA's online Telex Times news weekly described the dues increase as "modest," but it did not note the dues assessments deducted from vacation benefits.
"The increase was necessary so that the union's overriding mission - to represent the membership through contract enforcement and job preservation - is not negatively impacted," the Telex Times report said.
A notice mailed to all MEBA members and posted on the MEBA website during the referendum said the membership dues increase can "help counteract the financial toll on the union taken by inflation, cost of living growth and membership decline."
The official resolution proposing the MEBA membership dues increase in October 2015 said these three driving factors had "acted to financially impact the value of our current annual dues receipts." The resolution warned: "Due to existing budget outlays, and without a union dues revenue increase, the MEBA will have to consider further reductions in personnel and outports, which would impact member representation and services."
MEBA had operated "over the past 12 years" with "a budget in varying status, either close to cost-neutral, in surplus or at a deficit, by utilizing union revenue, investment income and reducing costs," the resolution noted. "MEBA has managed to operate more efficiently by controlling costs through reductions in headquarters and outport rent, outport locations, outport operating hours, MEBA personnel, travel costs, IT/communications costs and other administrative costs."
We're flattered to find the MEBA administration applying the new American Maritime Officers model of cost containment and consolidation in its effort to stabilize the MEBA treasury.
But one difference is that AMO achieved balance and financial security while rescinding a 2015 membership dues hike and ruling out a dues increase in 2016. Membership dues in American Maritime Officers - set rates determined by area of employment (deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters) and by shipboard position in the deep-sea and Great Lakes sectors, with no assessments from vacation benefits at any level - remain the lowest among AMO, MEBA and the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots.
Moreover, AMO since January 2015 has had no need to tap "investment income" for operating revenue. Indeed, our union is adding to its investment and savings accounts while holding fast to a growing operating budget surplus.
Nor does AMO rent its headquarters space - our union owns its principal office in Dania Beach, FL, with no mortgage or other debt tied to the property.
Job dispatch systems reflect another distinction held by American Maritime Officers among the three unions. AMO members are assigned to jobs from their homes by telephone, with job openings and registration lists posted daily to a secure members-only section of the AMO Dispatching website.
By contrast, MEBA and the MM&P are encumbered by a network of hiring halls and the costs associated with them (mortgage or rent, maintenance, insurance, property taxes, utilities and salaries) - costs borne significantly by MEBA and MM&P employers under reimbursement agreements. Members of MEBA and the MM&P must register for work in person at one of these halls - some of which are operated jointly by the two unions - and stand by on scene for jobs that may or may not open.
There is more that sets our union apart favorably from MEBA and the MM&P, but the point is made clearly enough here, and in the remarkable opportunities ahead for American Maritime Officers - for new jobs, for additional operating revenue and for additional employer contributions to AMO Plans, especially in the growing Jones Act product tanker fleet. The edge is ours, and we'll wield it wisely.
Terms of office in MEBA
The MEBA membership referendum also yielded a longer term of elective office - from three years to four, beginning with the terms of officials to be elected later this year. These extended terms of official jobs in MEBA will commence on January 1, 2017.
Four-year terms of office would "provide more stability to the MEBA by making the union's election cycle more practical," said the official resolution calling for longer official incumbency.
"The MEBA currently undergoes an officers' election every three years, a process encompassing most of the election year at large cost," the resolution explained, citing credential and tally committee expenses, the cost of an impartial administrator, and the printing and mailing of ballots.
"Three-year terms continue to complicate the union's relationship with employers and give an advantage to our competitors who enjoy longer terms," the resolution added. It said the conforming amendment to the MEBA by-laws to allow for four-year terms "will help strengthen MEBA and save us money." Elected officials in American Maritime Officers already serve four-year terms.
MEBA's realignment
Under the administrative reorganization approved in the referendum, MEBA's Gulf Coast vice president will relocate from New Orleans to Houston, and a branch agent will be assigned to Tampa. New Orleans will be deemed "an informational port," said the resolution proposing the realignment.
As always, I welcome comments and questions on any topic from all AMO members and applicants for AMO membership. I can be reached at headquarters at 800-362-0513 or 954-921-2221 (extension 1001) or on my cell at 954-881-5651.