Amo Union News

Liberty Maritime responds to MEBA’s ‘Informational Picket’ against the U.S. flag operator. Coinciding with Liberty Maritime’s reflagging ceremony in the Golden Triangle; The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) this week staged what they characterized as an ‘informational picket’ today against Liberty Maritime Corp., to include Liberty Global Logistics (Liberty). Not so, says Bob Wellner, President of Liberty Global Logistics LLC (LGL), who weighed in this morning on the matter. In his own prepared comments, Wellner told Marinelink, “The MEBA agreement with Liberty Maritime only covers dry cargo vessels which are enrolled in the Maritime Security Program.

AB&B Marketing, a division of AB&B Ergonomics, signed an agreement Tuesday with The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation to assist in marketing and organizing two job retraining programs --- Cruise Ship Professional Development and the U.S. Coast Guard approved Basic Safety Training. The agreement was negotiated between Ms. Betty Osenbaugh, president, AB&B Ergonomics, and Ms. Renee Marazon, CEO, The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation. The agreement was approved by The Maritime Academy Foundation Board at its meeting Tuesday. The Cruise Ship Professional Development program is aimed at training people for a variety of high-profile positions aboard cruise ships. Meanwhile the Basic Safety Training is a requirement for those working or who wish to pursue a job in the maritime industry.

Need to Educate More People for Maritime Jobs Stressed at Meeting with Community Leaders. Officials with the Maritime Academy of Toledo met with area community leaders Wednesday and stressed that more has to be done to call attention to job opportunities in the maritime industry, ahead of a predicted shortfall by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Representatives from Toledo City Council; the Board of Community Relations for the City of Toledo; and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority received a briefing from Ms. Renee Marazon, Superintendent of The Maritime Academy of Toledo.

MEBA accuses operator of creating labor dispute and delaying important cargoes. AMO enters into new collective bargaining agreement with Liberty. On Monday, Liberty Maritime Corporation announced that it had entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union under which the AMO will provide U.S. citizen licensed deck officers and engineers to Liberty Maritime for the operation of five U.S.-flag dry bulk carriers effective October 1, 2011. Previously subject to a collective bargaining agreement with Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, District No. 1-PCD (MEBA), that contract expired on September 30, 2011. According to a prepared Liberty statement, MEBA will continue to provide deck officers and engineers on the three U.S.

Liberty Maritime Corporation (Liberty Maritime) of Lake Success, New York today announced that it has entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union under which the AMO will provide U.S. citizen licensed deck officers and engineers to Liberty Maritime for the operation of five U.S.-flag dry bulk carriers effective October 1, 2011. Those vessels had previously been subject to a collective bargaining agreement between Liberty Maritime and the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, District No. 1-PCD (MEBA), which expired September 30, 2011.

U.S officer and seamen jobs on six liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers will be retained after the tankers are reflagged from the U.S. The merchant marine jobs will be guaranteed to American officers and seamen through 2004, according to two agreements announced last week. The agreements were signed by the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union, the Seafarers International Union (SIU) and PRONAV Ship Management, which manages the ships for BLNG Inc. Under the agreements, AMO will fill eight officer berths on the six vessels, and SIU will retain all of the existing billets for the unlicensed crewmen. "Today's unprecedented agreements represent a commitment to American labor," said Michael Dyer, senior partner at Dyer Ellis & Joseph, the law firm representing PRONAV and BLNG.