MIT Diplomas, Gala Dinners And Executive Magazine Covers Won’t Save The U.S. Merchant Marine

Why aren’t labor leaders willing to fight for our survival in increasingly dangerous seas?

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain OpEd) Adam Vocak, president of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA), graces the latest cover of Maritime Executive, celebrated in tuxedoed splendor at the annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards and praised by industry executives. For union members, this might look like a mark of prestige, but it’s far from that. When a union leader is celebrated by the very people he’s supposed to be pushing for better wages, benefits, and working conditions, it raises a profound question: whose interests is he really serving?

In the upcoming MEBA leadership election, Vocak stands uncontested. This lack of opposition suggests that union members may not fully grasp the unusual optics here—a labor leader, applauded by executives, front and center in a glossy magazine tailored for the management class. It’s a scene of unsettling coziness, a testament to a leadership style that values amicable industry relations over meaningful advocacy. The disconnect grows deeper when considering that Vocak’s tuxedo-clad award bestowment lacked any mention of what real wins he’s gotten for his members. In stark contrast, the achievements of past union legends like Jesse Calhoon speak volumes.

If union members don’t see the oddity of this cover story, it’s time to step outside the bubble and ask: Is MEBA’s leadership fighting for mariners, or for the praise of maritime executives who have been paying U.S. Merchant Mariners stagnant or inflation-adjusted declining wages for decades?

Jesse Calhoon’s MEBA: A Legacy of Fierce Advocacy

Jesse Calhoon, who led MEBA in the 1960s and ’70s, earned his reputation through unyielding advocacy for mariners. Under Calhoon, MEBA secured federal support for U.S. shipping, won significant wage increases, demanded Congress write new legislation, and pounded his fist on the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role in national defense and security. His was not an approach built on cordial relationships with industry executives at gala dinners; he was there tofightfor tangible improvements in the lives of hard-working engineers. Calhoon and presidents before him spearheaded legislative victories, established MEBA as a strong political force, cemented its headquarters across from the Capitol, and positioned MEBA as an essential entity, respected and feared across the industry.

Today, MEBA’s leadership stands in stark contrast. Vocak’s achievements, so enthusiastically applauded at the so-called “prestigious” Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards, are as vague as they are puzzling. While Calhoon fought for real, measurable victories, Vocak’s award description is padded with language about “collaborative efforts” and a “readiness to work with industry.” But where are the hard wins for merchant mariners? If prestigious awards now go to union leaders for speeches and cordial relations, we should question if MEBA’s priorities have drifted too far from its founding mission.

Soft Power and the Credentialed Leader: Intelligence Without Tenacity

Vocak – who according to the Maritime Executive article prefers Zoom meetings to potentially confrontational in-person meetings – is no doubt an intelligent man, holding multiple degrees from MIT and a background that would impress in any corporate boardroom. But intelligence alone doesn’t make an effective labor leader, especially in an industry as rugged and unforgiving as maritime. Vocak embodies a new breed of labor leader, one shaped by “soft power” ideals, safetyism, safeguarded feelings, coddling the status quo and credentialism. His intellectual credentials may serve him well among HR executives and board members, but mariners need more than brains—they need a fighter with grit and tenacity.

In service-driven and corporate fields, where teamwork, niceness, and consensus are emphasized, soft-power leadership is often rewarded. Elite institutions like Vocak’s MIT promote collaboration, inclusive innovation, and safetyism over confrontation because they are values that translate well in fields like technology, the service industry, and finance. But maritime is not a service industry. It’s a heavy industry, and heavy industry hasn’t fared well under the kinder, gentler methods that favor the HR departments of big business in our nation today. Mariners don’t need their leader to be polite; they need him to be tough. The job of a union leader isn’t to keep peace with management; it’s to secure gains for members, even if it means burning a few bridges along the way. Intelligence without a fighting spirit is like a grand ship with an underpowered engine—it may look impressive, but it’s adrift in heavy seas.

To be clear, the U.S. Merchant Marine today is facing heavy seas, and the barometer is dropping fast. 

The Case for Fierce Leadership: Look to the Teamsters and the ILA

Some may argue that diplomacy and “toxic-free” leadership are the future of labor. But the fact is, the opposite is working today. Look at the Teamsters’ recent contract victory under firebrand union leader Sean O’Brien, which secured a higher salary for UPS drivers than some MEBA junior officers currently earn. Or consider Harold Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), whose tough, confrontational approach won massive pay increases for his union members. Daggett’s leadership style couldn’t be more different from Vocak’s: he’s loud, unapologetically abrasive, and unafraid to bring operations to a halt if it means winning better terms for his members. Daggett led a historic ILA strike, halting operations at dozens of port facilities to bring shipping giants to the bargaining table. He didn’t care about being nice; he cared about winning.

Can you imagine Dagget on the cover of a magazine for elite executives?

Daggett’s leadership illustrates a critical truth: in sectors like maritime, leadership that’s willing to disrupt and demand is not only effective—it’s essential. Vocak’s well-mannered “calm” and “respectful” approach might work in the HR-dominated service economy, but it is ill-suited for labor advocacy in heavy industry. As O’Brien and Daggett show, labor wins are often fought with aggressive tactics, not cordial industry relationships. Mariners should question whether they want a leader who’s comfortable sipping champagne in a bowtie or one willing to take on industry head-to-head.

The Hidden Cost of Compliance: An Industry in Crisis

The U.S. Merchant Marine is facing one of the worst crises in its history. American-flagged vessels are disappearing from global waters, wages have stagnated, and the industry struggles to retain young talent. This decline isn’t just an economic problem; it’s a security risk, threatening America’s control over its own shipping and logistics. Under the Biden administration—arguably the most pro-labor presidency in many decades and a powerful Pentagon in acute pain because of our problems—MEBA has an unprecedented opportunity to push for real gains. Yet, instead of capitalizing on this moment, MEBA’s leadership appears content with business as usual, praising executives rather than pressing for change.

President Biden has openly supported organized labor, stood on the picket line during a strike, and supports creating an environment where aggressive, unapologetic demands could yield results. But without a leader willing to push those demands, MEBA risks losing a historic opportunity. This is no time for union leadership to sit comfortably on the sidelines, especially when industries like shipping are generating record profits. By embracing soft-power diplomacy and avoiding conflict, MEBA is letting its members down when they need bold, disruptive action the most.

Ships for America Act

The Ships for America Act is a bill poised to restore U.S. shipbuilding, rebuild the maritime workforce, and bolster national security in the face of rising global threats. Crafted with bipartisan support by maritime champions like Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Mike Waltz, dozens of industry fighters have been working to craft a bill that offers tax breaks, regulatory reform, and expanded training for American mariners—a critical opportunity to revitalize the U.S. Merchant Marine, which is essential to America’s strength.

This kind of legislative push isn’t new for MEBA. Jesse Calhoon, MEBA’s hard-nosed, ferocious leader, fought relentlessly in Washington for policies that improved mariners’ lives. He didn’t just show up—he demanded action and secured victories that defined the union’s legacy.

Today’s leadership could have followed in his footsteps. Yet, when MEBA’s president, Adam Vocak, had the chance to represent his members in a 3-day workshop with the senator’s staff in D.C. this month, he didn’t show up. He didn’t send a deputy either. Sources close to the bill claim that MEBA and MM&P have done little work editing the numerous drafts. While other union leaders like AMO and SIU have attended multiple workshops and fought to secure critical benefits and protections for mariners in the bill, Vocak—along with multiple gala award winnerMM&P Union President Don Marcus—was allegedly halfway around the world in Marrakesh, attending a United Nations IMO meeting. This was not the time for diplomatic detours in tropical locales paid for by union dues.

At a moment when the future of the U.S. Merchant Marine hangs in the balance, MEBA needs leaders who will fight for legislation, not network with shipping’s global elite in Morocco. If MEBA won’t show up for its members on the issues that matter most, who will?

A Call to Action: Mariners Deserve a Leader Who Fights

MEBA members face a choice: accept the culture of politeness and appeasement that dominates today’s union leadership or demand a return to the hard-edged, confrontational advocacy that once defined labor’s greatest champions. Jesse Calhoon’s legacy serves as a reminder of what real leadership can achieve. Calhoon didn’t care about being liked by executives; he cared about securing real, measurable gains for mariners. Today’s MEBA leadership needs to rekindle that spirit, replacing decorum with defiance and complacency with courage.

If union members want a future where mariners are paid and treated as essential national assets, they need leaders who will confront industry, not cozy up to it. Mariners need a leader who isn’t afraid to risk industry relationships if it means securing better pay, safer conditions, and a future for the U.S. Merchant Marine. It’s time for mariners to demand accountability, to press for leaders who prioritize them over appearances, and to remember that in the tough world of American industry, nice guys representing executive consultants win while nice guys representing labor keep finishing last.

A Stark Choice for MEBA Members and a Nation at Risk

So, MEBA members, ask yourselves: would you rather see your leader on the cover ofMaritime Executive, polished patent leather shoes gleaming under the ballroom lights at a New York Yacht Club gala, or would you prefer real wins—higher pay, better benefits, the arrest of rapists assaulting women members, and a leader willing to fight for you as you face mounting dangers on the world’s oceans? The choice couldn’t be more urgent. As geopolitical tensions rise and new conflict zones appear, merchant mariners are being thrust onto the front lines. If war breaks out tomorrow, you—MEBA’s members—are the ones who will face hostile waters and combat conditions in places like the Red Sea, navigating amidst threats from missiles, deadly drones, Black Sea mines, Somali pirates, and a world spiraling into vast geopolitical risk.

But let’s go a step further. Even if you are willing to accept the tuxedos and gala glamour, can the nation afford it? This isn’t just about MEBA; it’s about America’s security. While leaders prefer “calm” and “respectful” Zoom meetings over direct confrontation, TRANSCOM is sounding the alarm, and theU.S. Navy is laying up 17 shipsdue to a critical shortage of mariners. The life of a merchant mariner is undeniably tough, and it’s no wonder young talent is increasingly reluctant to enter the field. Yet while Adam Vocak rubs elbows at gala dinners, his crews work with outdated, temperamental machinery that should have been scrapped decades ago. They swing wrenches on ships that need serious upgrades, sail through missile zones in the Red Sea, face poor food and limited medical support, and often delay retirement due to insufficient benefits.

Today, many naval officers retire comfortably with large pensions and double-dipping post-retirement jobs. The world where naval officers made less money than mariners over a lifetime is gone. In 1989, Captain Joe Hazelwood made $189,000 a year plus overtime and vast benefits; today, most MEBA Chief Engineers make far less accounting for inflation. In contrast, Vocak’s members are sweating it out in the sweltering heat of engine rooms, some working into their 80s because they don’t have the benefits to retire comfortably. So, the question is clear: do you want a union leader focused on tuxedos, glitz, galas, and magazine covers, or one willing to demand a future where mariners get the respect and resources they deserve? America’s security depends on it.

It’s Time to fight like Calhoon

It’s unfair to single out Adam Vocak alone—he’s part of a broader trend that’s gripped the entire maritime industry. Safetyism, Ivy League credentialism, niceness, and a focus on optics over outcomes have crept in everywhere, from union halls to Washington. Our representatives at US Maritime Administration (MARAD) are no exception—led by a person with the appropriate nickname the “Ghost Admiral”—their presence is often confined to gala dinners, training ship commissioning ceremonies, and polished press releases. They pull punches and safeguard event invitations to exclude press and YouTubers that might rock the boat. MARAD, an agency once tasked with advancing the interests of American mariners, has become all but useless in the fight for a robust Merchant Marine. As we look toward the future, we have to ask: will the next president appoint yet another admiral from the Navy or Coast Guard who looks great in a tuxedo? Perhaps another past MARAD undersecretary or SES who served but failed to stand up to Congress and the White House under previous administrations? Or will they finally choose a leader willing to fight—not just for appearances, but for the mariners who serve on the frontlines of America’s economy and security? The Merchant Marine deserves nothing less.

It not only deserves nothing less; our nation NEEDS nothing less. Our troops cannot survive the next war if nobody shows up. And nobody will show up if we don’t stop attending self-congratulatory tuxedo dinners and start rolling up our sleeves in legislative working groups to fight for attracting new mariners and more ships under the U.S. flag. We need fighters, not men playing Nero’s fiddle as Rome burns around them.

The only way to correct course is to demand our unions, MARAD, and lobby organizations put fighters—not conformists—into leadership positions. And we must do it now because the Houthis, Russia, Iran, and China are knocking on our wheelhouse, and the U.S. Merchant Marine will be the first in the line of fire. Fire that no tuxedo or patent leather shoes will protect us from. Calhoon understood that.

A Final Word

This OpEd isn’t meant to criticize one individual, a particular “prestigious” award, or a competitor’s magazine. Adam Vocak is undoubtedly a capable and intelligent person, United Seamen’s Service is a commendable organization doing charitable work, and Maritime Executive is an excellent publication for the executive class. Perhaps what we need isn’t new leadership, but a rallying cry from our current union presidents, NGOs, US shipping CEOs, and publishers (gCaptain included) to move beyond platitudes like “our seafarers come first” and “the Merchant Marine is critical for our future.” Instead, it’s time to stand up and demand real change. We should give them the choice: fight for us or make room for those who will.

UPDATE: Harold Daggett did win the same ATOS award as Vocak the previous year