Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association
Encyclopedia
The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A.) is the oldest maritime trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 still currently in existence, established in 1875. M.E.B.A. primarily represents licensed mariner
Licensed mariner
A licensed mariner is a person who holds a license issued by one or more countries to hold senior positions aboard ships, boats, and similar vessels. The United States Coast Guard grants licenses to members of the United States Merchant Marine in five categories: deck officers, engineers, staff...

s, especially deck
Deck department
The Deck Department is an organizational unit aboard naval and merchant ships. A Deck Officer is an officer serving in the deck department.-Merchant shipping:...

 and engine officers working in the United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...

 aboard U.S.-flagged
Flag State
The flag state of a commercial vessel is the state under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed.The flag state has the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under its flag, including those relating to inspection, certification, and issuance of safety...

 vessels. It is a member union of the AFL–CIO.

M.E.B.A. officers work in both the oceans and the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

 in many settings, including on container ship
Container ship
Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

s, tankers
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...

 (including LNG carrier
LNG carrier
An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas . As the LNG market grows rapidly, the fleet of LNG carriers continues to experience tremendous growth.-History:...

s), cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

s, drillship
Drillship
A drillship is a maritime vessel that has been fitted with drilling apparatus. It is most often used for exploratory offshore drilling of new oil or gas wells in deep water or for scientific drilling. The drillship can also be used as a platform to carry out well maintenance or completion work such...

s, tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

s, ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

, and fireboat
Fireboat
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft and with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment....

s, as well as in various capacities in the shoreside ship transport
Ship transport
Ship transport is watercraft carrying people or goods . Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises...

 and marine industries and on government-contracted ships of the United States Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

 and United States Navy's
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

. Merchant mariners deliver critical defense cargo to United States armed forces in times of military conflict.

Members and their families benefit from M.E.B.A.'s collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

 agreements through the union's Medical Plan, 401(k)
401(k)
A 401 is a type of retirement savings account in the United States, which takes its name from subsection of the Internal Revenue Code . A contributor can begin to withdraw funds after reaching the age of 59 1/2 years...

 Plan, Pension Trust, and Vacation Plan. The M.E.B.A. Training Plan provides further technical training at the Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School in Easton, Maryland
Easton, Maryland
Easton, founded 1710, is a town within the Easton District of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,708 at the 2000 census, and 14,677 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Talbot County. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the...

.

History

The nation's oldest maritime union was formed out of necessity in the late 19th century. Steamship owners on the Mississippi and Great Lakes were competing with one another and demanding greater speeds from their vessels. This increase in speed greatly reduced safety in the engine room due to fires and boiler explosions. Even with increased risk, the wages remained the same.

In 1874, the Buffalo Association of Engineers began corresponding with other marine engineer associations around the country. In February 1875, the leaders of five steamship unions out of Buffalo, New York, Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois and Baltimore, Maryland, convened in Cleveland, Ohio to join together. This organization called itself the National Marine Engineers Association and chose Garret Dow of Buffalo as its president. (The word Beneficial was not added until 1883.)

M.E.B.A.'s membership, like that of all American maritime unions has varied widely over the years. At the end of World War I, they had more than 22,000 members, but by 1934, their membership was down to 4,848. Membership ballooned during World War II, with job opportunities for about 200,000 seamen.

Presidents

  • 1875 : Garret Dow
    History of the United States Merchant Marine
    The maritime history of the United States is a broad theme within the history of the United States. As an academic subject, it crosses the boundaries of standard disciplines, focusing on understanding the United States' relationship with the oceans, seas, and major waterways of the globe.-Early...

  • 1876-1881 : Abner L. Foote
  • 1881 : Thomas H. Nelson
  • 1882 : Edward D. Bateman
  • 1883 : James H. Reid
  • 1884 : William E. Russell
  • 1885 : Andrew Ritter
  • 1886 : Andrew Payne
  • 1887-1888 : Aspinwall Fuller
  • 1889 : Ambrose L. Boyce
  • 1890-1892 : John H. Galway
  • 1893-1903 : George Uhler
  • 1904- 1906 : Frank A. Jones
  • 1907-1914 : William F. Yates
  • 1915-1916 : A. Bruce Gibson
  • 1917-1926 : William S. Brown
  • 1926-1930 : William F. Yates
  • 1930-1934 : C.M. Sheplar
  • 1935-1936 : William S. Brown
  • 1937-1949 : Samuel J. Hogan
  • 1950-1959 : Herbert L. Daggett
  • 1960-1963 : E.N. Altman
  • 1963-1984 : Jesse M. Calhoon

  • 1985-1992 : C.E. (Gene) DeFries
  • 1992-1994 : Gordon Ward
  • 1995 : Joel Bem
  • 1996-1998 : Alex Shandrowsky
    Alex Shandrowsky
    Alexander A. Shandrowsky is a former American labor union leader from Baltimore, Maryland. He was elected President of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO in 1995 and served in that position until 1998.-Sources:...

  • 1999-2001 : Larry O'Toole
  • 2002-2007 : Ron Davis
  • 2008—2010 : Don Keefe
    Don Keefe
    Don Keefe is an American labor leader who serves as the President of District No. 1-PCD, Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, . Founded in 1875, M.E.B.A. is the oldest and largest maritime officers’ union in the United States. Don Keefe is an American labor leader who serves as the President...

  • 2011— : Mike Jewell

Union Halls

  • Baltimore, Maryland
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Charleston, South Carolina
    Charleston, South Carolina
    Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

  • Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

  • Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

  • Houston, Texas
    Houston, Texas
    Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

  • Jacksonville, Florida
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

  • Los Angeles
    Los Ángeles
    Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

    /Wilmington, California
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

  • New York
    New York
    New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

    /Jersey City, New Jersey
    Jersey City, New Jersey
    Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

  • Norfolk, Virginia
    Norfolk, Virginia
    Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

  • San Francisco/Oakland, California
    San Francisco Bay Area
    The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

  • San Juan, Puerto Rico
    San Juan, Puerto Rico
    San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

  • Seattle, Washington
    Seattle, Washington
    Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

  • Tampa, Florida
    Tampa, Florida
    Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....


District 1 Contracted Companies

This is a partial list of companies under contract with M.E.B.A., D1.
  • APL
    American President Lines
    American President Lines Ltd. is the world's seventh-largest container transportation and shipping company, providing services to more than 140 countries through a network combining intermodal freight transport operations with IT and e-commerce...

  • Horizon Lines
  • Interlake Steamship Co
  • Keystone Shipping Co.
  • Maersk Line, Limited
  • Matson Navigation Company
    Matson Navigation Company
    The Matson Navigation Company, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, is a private shipping company with roots extending into the late 19th century...

  • Military Sealift Command
    Military Sealift Command
    The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

  • Overseas Shipholding Group
    Overseas Shipholding Group
    Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. is one of the largest oil tanker operating companies in the world. It is based in New York City....

  • Washington State Ferries
    Washington State Ferries
    Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...

  • The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority
    The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority
    The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, referred to coloquially as The Steamship Authority or simply the SSA, is the statutory regulatory body for all ferry operations to and from the Islands from the Massachusetts mainland, as well as being an operator of ferry service...

  • Alaska Tanker Company
  • Alaska State Ferries
  • Liberty Maritime
  • Waterman Steamships Line
  • Central Gulf Shipping Line

See also

  • International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots
    International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots
    The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots or MM&P is a United States labor union representing licensed mariners. It is the marine division of the International Longshoremen's Association....

  • The Maritime Trades Department AFL-CIO
    The Maritime Trades Department AFL-CIO
    -External links:*...

  • United States Merchant Marine
    United States Merchant Marine
    The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...

  • United States Maritime Administration
  • American Bureau of Shipping
    American Bureau of Shipping
    The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society, with a mission to promote the security of life, property and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities...

  • International Maritime Organization
    International Maritime Organization
    The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...

  • Paul Hall
    Paul Hall (labor leader)
    Paul Hall was an American labor leader from Inglenook in Jefferson County, Alabama. He was a founding member and president of the Seafarers International Union from 1957 to 1980...

  • Michael Sacco
    Michael Sacco
    Michael Sacco is an American labor leader from Brooklyn, New York. He was appointed as the president of the Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO in June 1988 by the SIUNA Executive Board....

  • National Maritime Union
    National Maritime Union
    The National Maritime Union was an American labor union founded in May 1937. It affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in July 1937...


External links


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