Steamship Authority (SSA) oilers feel they aren’t getting fair career opportunities at the ferry service, and are pushing for the development of apprenticeship programs.
Paul Curtis, an SSA oiler, told the Steamship board on Tuesday, March 19, that the ferry service did not provide equal opportunity for workers in the engine department to advance their careers, compared with those in other positions at the Steamship.
“At the present time, there’s no path for career advancement beyond the position of oiler for the unlicensed engine department at the Steamship Authority,” he said. An oiler provides mechanical repair and maintenance aboard vessels.
According to Curtis, oilers need to accumulate a certain amount of “watch time” under an assistant engineer before taking an exam to become an assistant engineer, per U.S. Coast Guard licensing requirements. The Steamship Authority does not employ assistant engineers on their vessels, so it’s impossible for an oiler to accumulate enough sea time to become a chief engineer, Curtis said. Their only option to advance their careers, he said, was to leave the SSA.
“All we ask is that we be given the opportunity to advance up the USCG licensing ladder in order to improve our lot in life,” Curtis said.
SSA general manager Robert Davis declined to discuss the issue in public session, pointing out that the grievances raised by Curtis should be addressed during collective bargaining negotiations.
SSA board chair and Hyannis representative Robert Jones responded that it has been difficult to fill positions for both deck and engine departments.
“There’s just been a lack of personnel, so trips have been canceled,” he said, adding that this wasn’t a problem unique to the SSA, and pointed to the Washington State Ferries canceling trips due to a lack of qualified employees.
Jones said the message was “well taken,” and he was sure the SSA will look into the issue. “It’s not as though they haven’t,” he said.
Curtis also stated that SSA engineering officers, many of whom have been with the ferry service for decades, had to “sacrifice greatly with out-of-pocket expenses” for mandatory classes and study materials with the hopes of advancing in the Steamship Authority. He also pointed out that while the engine department lacks a proper promotion ladder, the SSA has an apprenticeship program for its deck department for an individual to advance from a seaman to captain. Curtis said the SSA pays for necessary classes for deck officers to advance within the SSA.
“The SSA offers the chance and schooling to promote their merchant marine seamen at every step of the process, except for the one from assistant engineer to chief engineer,” he said.
Curtis requested the SSA look into the matter, and coordinate with other members of the maritime community, including the Coast Guard if necessary, to develop an apprenticeship program for the engine department. He also requested that unlicensed engine department employees be included in reimbursements for required training, like advanced firefighting, for their career advancement.
“The Steamship Authority is a great organization and a real asset to the Cape and Islands,” Curtis said. “A program that will address this disparity will greatly improve the quality of career opportunity enjoyed by the authority’s employees, as well as the communities it serves, and we can all benefit greatly.”
A representative of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association told The Times that while the union provides workers, it is up to the SSA to develop a career ladder. Additionally, the engine department and the deck department are represented by two different unions, and the two career paths operate under different measurements.