August 2017
On the heels of ratification of the new standard freightship and tanker agreements, the union has reached tentative contracts with several other operators.
In his membership report for July, SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker noted that tentative agreements were in place with Crowley Liner Services; E-Ships, Inc.; Keystone Shipping; Liberty Maritime; Matson Navigation; Maersk Line, Limited (MLL); Matson Navigation; Marine Personnel and Provisioning; and Transoceanic Cable.
Tricker further stated that the aforementioned pacts are largely patterned after the standard agreements. All of them feature yearly wage increases while maintaining benefits.
Most of the new contracts are five-year agreements. Included in this category are the pacts covering Crowley, E-Ships, Liberty Maritime, MLL, Marine Personnel and Provisioning, and Transoceanic Cable. The Matson contract covers four years, while the Keystone agreement covers nine years. The Keystone pact features annual wage increases for the first five years, followed by an economic reopener (including wages and fringe benefits) in June 2022.
“All of these contracts are a credit to rank-and-file Seafarers as well as to our vessel operators,” Tricker stated. “They are fair to both sides, which is exactly what we strive to achieve. I’m especially pleased we were able to secure yearly wage increases while maintaining benefits, which is far from the norm for many other organizations.”
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