Curious

**BroSum** · February 19th, 2013, 06:42 PM

So I met this union guy (SIU) and he said he's 2 years from retiring, I thought that was odd because he's still an OS. With all that time he has is that "normal" for him to just now be getting a AB ticket? Is that just a "union" thing ? Is advancing really that difficult? I'm just curious, because to me it seems like he's been getting stiffed in a horrible way...

BroSum :.

**z-drive** · February 19th, 2013, 06:51 PM

Some folks just don't advance. Some people are content as OS, AB, 3rd, anything. Sometimes it may be a personal, confidence, any kind of reason why they don't do it. Some just don't want to.

**scengineer** · February 19th, 2013, 06:57 PM

With a union, sometimes its just whatever job is on the board. Last winter I took my first 2nds job...my next one right after that was a 3rds. Not because I couldn't handle it, I just took the first thing that came to me.

**PaddyWest2012** · February 19th, 2013, 07:03 PM

I once worked with a 30+ year-old deckhand, who never really had any other adult job, and who did not carry an MMC, but his greatest aspiration in life was to get his OS and work somewhere else on that. Now talk about lack of ambition... Some people just don't possess it.

**jdcavo** · February 20th, 2013, 05:01 AM

Originally Posted by BroSum

So I met this union guy (SIU) and he said he's 2 years from retiring, I thought that was odd because he's still an OS. With all that time he has is that "normal" for him to just now be getting a AB ticket? Is that just a "union" thing ? Is advancing really that difficult? I'm just curious, because to me it seems like he's been getting stiffed in a horrible way...

BroSum :.

He may have a medical problem that prevents him from getting anything but entry-level., The medical standards are lower for OS.

**Doodlebug** · February 20th, 2013, 06:26 AM

I was on a Offshore Logistics boat in the late 80's and the os was about 55. Great guy, he loved being an os, had no need for responsibilities and lived very very simply in FL. It seems
to depend on the individual.

**z-drive** · February 20th, 2013, 06:35 AM

It's not always a lack of ambition. Just like not every construction worker becomes a foreman, every business person a CEO. Often there are personal issues. I work with a few Os's who use English as a second language for example. They communicate fine but are intimidated by an AB course or exam, Nevermind license.

Also work with a few who are idiots for not getting an AB, if nothin else for the better pay. For them it's just being lazy.

**BargeMonkey** · February 20th, 2013, 08:33 PM

I always love to here the guys say "if the office paid 100% of it, i would do it", and then they wonder why they are still at the bottom. The lack of motivation in this industry, and i only know the -tug-barge- side of things is crazy, your telling me that a few weeks in a classroom, where the instructor basically reads the test for you, and you get a 20-40k a year raise, and you cant do this, thats why this country is falling behind. The company i work for was pulling kids out of high schools and pizza parlors a few years ago, before the recession, because they needed deckhands and entry level guys so badly.

**seadog6608** · February 20th, 2013, 09:53 PM

There were plenty of "professional ordinaries" when I was at MSC. Sometimes they were dumbasses, sometimes drunks, sometimes their Engish sucked or they couldn't read. And sometimes it was job contentment. They found their nitch and they were happy with it.

**seacomber** · February 20th, 2013, 11:03 PM

Sailed with two career ordinary seaman. Both were wipers, in the union, and content with the pay. Neither spends alot of time in the U.S., both were dependable and hard working. It could have been medical, but if it was you couldn't tell, Maersk always kept them in a job. I know either one of them worked well above his rating, some companies just get lucky. Especially if they get someone who likes what they are doing.

**PaddyWest2012** · February 21st, 2013, 07:13 AM

Originally Posted by BargeMonkey

The company i work for was pulling kids out of high schools and pizza parlors a few years ago, before the recession, because they needed deckhands and entry level guys so badly.

The good old days... Almost like press gangs of the Napoleonic-era British Navy. I always found it amusing that in our industry scraping the bottom of the barrel means we're doing well, because we can't get our hands on enough people, and a surplus of talent means times are tough because there aren't enough jobs to go around.

**Sweat-n-Grease** · February 21st, 2013, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by z-drive

Some folks just don't advance. Some people are content as OS, AB, 3rd, anything. Sometimes it may be a personal, confidence, any kind of reason why they don't do it. Some just don't want to.

So true, z-drive, I worked with some excellent QMED's. Sometimes I would inquire why not get your license. I was told, "Why, I'm perfectly content at what I do.' I respect that.

**Steamer** · February 21st, 2013, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Sweat-n-Grease

So true, z-drive, I worked with some excellent QMED's. Sometimes I would inquire why not get your license. I was told, "Why, I'm perfectly content at what I do.' I respect that.

Same here, those guys are among the most valuable tools in the engine room. And in many cases (MFOW) they make more than a 3rd anyway and have enough senority to work more than a Group 2 or 3 3rd shipping off the board.

**scengineer** · February 21st, 2013, 08:25 AM

Alot of these guys also have 10-15 years in their respective unlicensed union by the time they are ready to make that jump and they would rather add to their pension years versus starting over in a new union.