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Cooperative Efforts Result in NOAA Wage Gains
Pay Schedules Announced for Mariners
June 2006

The SIU Government Services Division has been informed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration that new pay schedules for NOAA unlicensed mariners have been calculated and forwarded to the National Finance Center (NFC) for approval and implementation. This means that NOAA unlicensed crew members will soon receive significant wage increases. The pay for federal service mariners is established by federal law Title 5, Sec. 5348. It is a system unique to the Federal Service and basically calls for the federal government to review private industry pay practices when establishing pay rates for the crews of the NOAA and the Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleets. Every year, U.S. maritime unions including the SIU, the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) and the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) provide MSC with private-sector contracts to demonstrate the pay adjustments made by various U.S.-shipping companies. MSC reviews this information and then submits the changes to the Navy Wage Fixing Authority for approval. By regulation, NOAA follows MSC’s lead in establishing pay practices. This process takes a lot of time in a normal payroll year and in 2005 took longer than usual. The SIU’s Government Services Division worked diligently and engaged in ongoing discussions with NOAA to implement a different methodology for establishing wages that better reflects modern shipboard conditions and duties. The SIU’s formal proposal and a detailed wage analysis were sent to Rear Adm. Richard R. Behn, director of NOAA’s Marine and Aviation Operations Centers, and to other NOAA staff in late August 2005. During this process SIU Government Services Representative Kate Hunt and Rear Admiral Behn and his staff (especially Dale North, Mary Berklund and Capt. Jack McAdams) conducted several highly productive meetings. The meetings supported development of a very cooperative relationship between NOAA allowing the parties to reach an outcome benefiting all NOAA unlicensed crew members. Admiral Behn reviewed the submission and indicated his initial approval of the proposal to increase unlicensed wages across the board by 10 percent. Once that approval was made, the wage submission began making its way through the NOAA’s authorizing process. SIU representatives believe the result has been worth the wait. Within the next few pay periods, NOAA mariners will be receiving an approximately 3.6 percent (depending on locale) increase on base wages and overtime, retroactive to July 10, 2005 (this is the FY05 adjustment) and a 10 percent increase on base wages and overtime retroactive to Jan. 8, 2006. The union’s initiatives regarding all aspects of pay policies and work rules are meant to support improvement in the economic lives of unlicensed mariners and their families. The union believes that NOAA will benefit from these wage adjustments because competitive earnings in this fleet will result in NOAA becoming a premier employer in the maritime industry—and more shipboard personnel will be willing to consider positions with this agency. ###