Refrigeration engineers

Utility workers

Wipers

Stewards*

Steward assistants*

General vessel assistants

Maintains and repairs ship’s refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, and ventilation
systems. Makes periodic inspection of equipment and systems, including connected
auxiliaries such as refrigerators, drinking fountains, and ice-making machines. Du-
ties include replacing pumps and compressors; cleaning condensers and ducts; and
replacing worn or defective parts. Keeps complete records on operation, maintenance,
and repair of equipment.

Performs routine maintenance and repair work in the engine department. Assists in
maintenance and repair of main propulsion and auxiliary machinery and piping. As-
sists in fueling ship, hooking up oil lines, and taking soundings. May perform routine
maintenance of deck and galley equipment.

Cleans machinery, decks, bulkheads, and other areas of engine room using cleaning
solutions, rags, water hoses, mops, vacuum cleaners, brushes, and scraping tools. Dis-
poses of refuse. May assist in connecting and disconnecting fuel oil and water lines
and pumping up galley fuel tank.

Prepares or assists in preparing and serving meals. Performs a variety of galley duties,
such as cutting, preparing, and cooking meats, fish, and poultry; culling, washing and
cooking vegetables; preparing and serving desserts and other foods; setting-out night
lunches; cleaning galley and equipment; storing leftovers; and disposing of garbage
and trash. May help plan menus, or bake bread, rolls, cakes, pies, and pastries. For
wage study purposes, cooks were classified as “chief cooks and cooks-bakers” and
“second cooks/second cooks-bakers/assistant cooks” in the 1986-1991 surveys.

Supervises and coordinates activities of personnel in steward department. Performs
one or both of the following functions:

1. Directs and participates in the preparation and serving of meals; determines
timing and sequence of operations required to meet serving times; inspects galley and
equipment for cleanliness and proper storage and preparation of food. May plan or
assist in planning meals and taking inventory of stores and equipment.

2. Directs, instructs, and assigns personnel, performing such functions as pre-
paring and serving meals; cleaning and maintaining officers’ quarters and steward
department areas; and receiving, issuing, and inventorying stores. Plans menus; com-
piles supply, overtime, and cost control records. May requisition or purchase stores
and equipment.

Performs one or both of the following functions:

1. Performs a variety of the following duties: Sets out night lunches; defrosts
and cleans refrigerators; cleans messroom, gear, and equipment, sweeps and scrubs
messroom deck; sets and clears tables; draws stores, linen, and utensils; disposes of
trash and garbage and scrubs garbage cans, cleans brightwork and woodwork, and
removes grease and finger marks from paintwork; and assists in taking inventory.
May clean ladders and passageways.

2. Cleans and maintains steward department areas. Makes up bunks and cleans
rooms, toilets, and showers of officers and others, as assigned; cleans laundry room,
refrigerated spaces, passageways, ladder wells, storerooms, linen lockers, ship’s of-
fices, and radio room; sorts, counts, stocks, and issues linens; and assists in the serving
of meals in the messroom or pantry.

Performs a variety of duties concerned with the operation, maintenance, repair, and
cleaning of equipment and facilities in the deck, engine, and steward department ar-
eas. Duties include scaling, buffing, and painting deck and superstructure; cleaning,
washing, or polishing decks, passageways, brightwork, machinery and equipment; and
securing cargo.

* Occupational definitions in the steward’s department group changed over time. This appendix lists the definitions used in the most recent survey.

Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 70


Appendix. Occupational

Descriptions

Seamen

Boatswains

Electricians

Oilers/diesel oilers

Pumpers

Unlicensed junior
engineers/qualified member
of the engine department
(QMED)/deck engine
mechanics

Performs a variety of duties concerned with the operational upkeep of deck depart-
ment areas and equipment. Scales, buffs, and paints decks and superstructure; sweeps
and washes deck; splices wire and rope; breaks out, rigs, overhauls, and stows cargo-
handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear; secures cargo; and launches and
recovers boats. May rig and operate hydrographic and other specialty winches; handle
and stow oceanographic explosives; and stage and stop beach support equipment. In
addition, when assigned to watch duty, performs a variety of duties, including look-
ing for obstructions in path of vessel, steering vessel, serving on security patrol, and
standing gangway watch. Entry-level employees are normally titled “ordinary sea-
men,” while more experienced workers are titled “able seamen.”

Supervises unlicensed deck personnel engaged in cleaning, chipping, scrapping,
wirebrushing, and painting decks, sides, and superstructure; polishing metalwork;
and operating and maintaining deck gear, safety equipment, rigging, and other equip-
ment. Inspects and tests equipment to ensure safe and Proper operation; inspects
work areas and crew quarters for cleanliness. Directs securing of cargo, deck gear,
and lines preparatory to leaving port and supervises handling of mooring lines and
gangway when ship is docked or undocked. In addition, when assigned to watch
duties, aiso stands at wheel or lookout, watches for obstructions in path of ship; steers
ship; and directs security procedures.

Repairs, tests, and maintains electrical equipment, machinery, and systems such as
generators, alternators, motors, and intercommunication systems. Makes inspection
rounds of electrical equipment and maintains records and schedules of tasks and
inspections. For wage study purposes, electricians were classified as “chief electri-
cian” or “electrician/second electrician.”

Lubricates moving parts such as gears, shafts, and bearings of engine and auxiliary
equipment. Makes scheduled rounds to observe temperature, pressure, oil level, and
condition of equipment, and records data in engineering log. Duties include tending
pumps, maintaining evaporators, and monitoring operation of automatically controlled
boilers. Assists in transferring oil and water, and may assist in maintenance and
Tepairs in engine room, machine shop, shaft alley, and related Spaces.

Operates, tests, repairs, and maintains liquid cargo handling, bailast, and tank equip-
ment, including pumps, cargo pipelines, room heating systems, and engine depart-
ment areas.

Performs a variety of tasks connected with the maintenance and tepair of engine
room, fire room, machine shop, ice-machine room, and Steering-engine room equip-
ment. Inspects equipment such as pumps, turbines, distilling plants, and condensers,
and prepares record of condition. Lubricates and maintains machinery and equip-
ment such as generators, steering systems, lifeboats, and sewage disposal systems;
and cleans and restores tools and equipment.

69 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997


~—ENDNOTES—

‘AUS, Department of Labor agency.

? McNamara-O' Hara Service Contract Act of 1965 (41 United States
Code 35t).

? These surveys were conducted by the Bureau's Occupational Wage Pro-
‘gram and later by its Occupational Compensation Survey program. They cov-
ered unlicensed employees on American flag vessels, excluding passenger
vessels and ships operating solely on the Great Lakes or other inland waters.
For the tankers surveys, only vessels of 12,000 power tons or more were cov-
ered; for the freighters surveys, only vessels of 5,000 power tons or more were
covered.

* Results are shown in the following publications: Wage Survey, Deep
Sea Freighters, November 1987, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary,
June 1988; Wage Survey, Deep Sea Freighters, November 1988, U.S. Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, Summary, June 1989; Wage Survey, Deep Sea
Freighters, November 1989, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, May
1990; Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay Only, Deep Sea Freight-
ers, November 1991, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, July I
Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay and Benefits, Deep Sea Freig
ers, November 1993, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, May I
‘Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay Only, Deep Sea Freighters, July
1996, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, January 1997.

* For the 12-months ending December of each year, percent change in
wages and salaries of all private industry workers; Employment Cost Indexes
and Levels, 1975-95, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2466, Octo-
ber 1995, table 10, 3; Employment Cost Index News Release, U.S. Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, USDL 96-46, February 13, 1996, table 6, p. 12; and
Employment Cost Index News Release, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, USDL
97-24, January 28, 1997, table 6, p. 12.

“Employment Cost Index data show a 39.7 percent increase in wages and
salaries for all private industry workers from December 1986 to December
1996,

71 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997

Results are shown in the following publications: Wage Survey, Deep
Sea Tankers, November 1986, US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary,
August 1987; Wage Survey, Deep Sea Tankers, November 1988, U.S. Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, Summary, June 1989; Wage Survey, Deep Sea Tank-
ers, November 1989, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, May 1990;
Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay Only, Deep Sea Tankers, Novem-
ber 1991, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, July 1992; Occupa-
tional Compensation Survey: Pay and Benefits, Deep Sea Tankers, No-
vember 1993, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Summary, May 1994.

* Comparing the 1993 Freighters survey results to those of the 1993 Tank-
ers survey.

° Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act, commonly referred to as the
Jones Act, states that “no merchandise shall be transported by water, or by
land and water....between points in the United States. .. in any other vessel
than a vessel built in and documented under the laws of the United States and
‘owned by persons who are citizens of the United States...” Jones Act vessels
must be crewed by American citizens or legal aliens of the United States. For
more information, see “The Jones Act ~Comerstone of U.S. Maritime Policy,”
Internet site http:/flittle.nblink.net/wgm/Ica/jones.htm!

'° US. Deep Sea Seafaring Workforce, 1000+ Gross Tons, 1945-1995,
unpublished data, Office of Maritime Labor, Training and Safety, U.S. Mari
time Administration, Washington, D.C.

"U.S. Oceangoing Merchant Fleet, Operators, Crewing Levels, and
Sailing Workforce, December 1995, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C., 1995, Union Report, p. 32.

” For a vivid illustration of employment and living conditions aboard
ships flying flags of convenience, see Trouble On Board: The Plight of Inter-
national Seafarers, by Paul K, Chapman, ILR Press, New York,1992.

See Internet site http//www3.itu.ch/MISSLONS/US/bb/
wto.htmlthistory for information on GATS.


Occupational Compensati

Wages in the Deep
Sea Transportation

Industry: Freighters

and Tankers

BY ELIZABETH DIETZ

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. Navy markedly increased its
use of private contractors to ship supplies to its fleet. The
Employment Standards Administration (ESA)! determined
that the wages of seafaring workers employed by these pri-
vate contractors should be covered by the Service Contract
Act of 1965,? which requires that all private establishments
providing services to the Federal Government must pay their
employees prevailing locality wages and related benefits.
At the request of the ESA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), conducted a series of surveys on wages of sea-going
personnel, including unlicensed workers, aboard deep sea
freighters and tankers.’

Wages aboard deep sea freighters

The most recent survey of occupational wages aboard
deep sea freighters was conducted by BLS in July 1996.
Other surveys were conducted in November 1987, 1988,
1989, 1991, and 1993.4 The July survey showed that work-
ers in the engine department commanded the highest
monthly wages of any of the groups of unlicensed freighter
workers. Chief electricians, at $3,072 per month, had the
highest wages. (See table 1.) Electricians and second elec-
tricians had the second highest wages, at $2,780 per month.
Boatswains, leaders of the deck crew, earned $2,761 per
month, and stewards, $2,701. Boatswains and stewards
earned almost twice as much per month as ordinary sea-
men and steward assistants. (See appendix.)

Blizabeth Dietz is an economist in the Division of Compensation Data
Analysis and Planning, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Telephone (202) 606-
6287. The author would like to thank John Mellis, Maritime Industry Ana-
lyst, U.S. Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C., for his help in under-
standing industry employment terminology and securing industry data.

Average wages in all private industry increased by about
2.5 percent to 4 percent each year between 1987 and 1996.5
Among workers on deep sea freighters, surveyed wages gen-
erally showed similar increases, with a notable exception
for the 1989-91 period. During this period, when average
wages for all private industry increased about 8 percent,
wages in the surveyed freighter occupations increased be-
tween 9 and 20 percent.

Over the entire survey period, 1987-96, wages for most
surveyed freighter occupations increased cumulatively be-
tween 20 to 35 percent. There were some occupations,
however, which increased considerably more than this.
Chief electricians’ earnings increased 41 percent from 1987
to 1996, while oilers’ and diesel oilers’ earnings increased
50 percent. Most remarkable, however, were the earnings
of utility workers and engine utilitymen, whose earnings
increased 71 percent. It should be kept in mind that some
of the change in relative wages is due to the mix of ships
and establishments in the survey at any given point. Occu-
pations with few survey observations may show a greater
fluctuation in average wages over time than occupations
with greater numbers of employees.

Wages aboard deep sea tankers

BLS conducted surveys on occupational wages aboard
deep sea tankers in November 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, and
1993.7 Many of the same occupations appeared in each of
these surveys. The latest tankers survey, November 1993,
found that stewards, at $2,586, had the highest monthly
earnings of the occupations meeting publication criteria.
Stewards assistants, however, earned the lowest average
wages; at $1,449, this is only a little more than half of the

Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 66


monthly earnings of stewards. (See table 2.)

Earnings among tanker occupations increased moder-
ately between 1986-89, generally in the 2- to 8-percent
range. Increases were more substantial from 1989 to 1993,
when they ranged between 5 and 17 percent. Ordinary sea-
men had the largest cumulative gains, 44 percent, over the
1986-93 survey compared to general vessel assistants, the
group whose wages increased the least (19 percent).

Comparing wages on freighters and tankers

Freighters and tankers are different in fundamental ways.
Most tankers carry one cargo: crude oil. This liquid has to
be pumped in and out of the vessel. Freighters carry a vari-
ety of cargo, which traditionally has been shipped in crates
and loaded and unloaded manually. It is now more com-
mon for freighter cargo to be shipped in huge containers.
These containers are lifted with cranes from the vessel onto
railroad cars or are attached to specially designed 18-wheel
tractor-trailers. Because of the differences in the nature of
the cargo that is carried on freighters and tankers, the ves-
sels are constructed differently and therefore operated dif-
ferently. Despite these differences, many of the same occu-
pations exist on both types of ships and appeared in both
the freighters and tankers surveys.

The average monthly earnings of able seamen, utility
workers, wipers, cooks, stewards, steward assistants, and
general vessel assistants were about the same aboard freight-
ers as tankers*; their earnings differed by only a few per-
centage points at most. Boatswains earned 6 percent more
on freighters than they did on tankers, while unlicensed
junior engineers earned 12 percent more. Ordinary sea-
men earned 12 percent more on tankers than they did on
freighters, and oilers and diesel oilers, 17 percent more.

Benefits

Deep sea transportation workers earn substantial ben-
efits. Seafaring workers are, by necessity, at the job site for
months at a time. They receive benefits in kind, such as
room and board, fresh bedding, hand soap, laundry soap,
modern dining (mess) halls, and recreation rooms with tele-
vision sets. They also receive monetary benefits such as
paid vacations and health and welfare benefits. Some BLS
freighter and tanker surveys collected data on benefits as
well as wages. The 1993 deep sea tankers survey found
that employers paid an additional 55.8 percent of base pay
into employees’ vacation funds. Workers earned, on aver-

67 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997

age, 19.3 vacation days for every 30 days worked. And
employers contributed an average of $49.90 per day for ev
ery day worked toward health, welfare, pension, and train
ing plans for unlicensed employees. The 1993 deep sei
freighters survey found similar results.

In addition to base pay and monetary benefits, seafarer:
are entitled to additional pay for overtime and “penalty’
time, which occurs when work is performed outside the
normal job description. Considering overtime and penalty
time, the gross earnings of these seafarers could be up tc
twice that of their base pay.

Institutional changes

Freighters traditionally have been owned and ‘operatec
by shipping lines. Parties that want their goods shipped
would pay an independent shipping line to transport them.
Tankers, on the other hand, have traditionally been owned
and operated by the oil companies whose cargo they car-
Tied. As a result of the liability incurred in recent deep sea
tanker accidents, oil companies are increasingly turning to
independent shipping lines to fill their transportation needs.

America’s heyday of deep sea transportation was the early
half of the 20th century. The U.S. Maritime Administra-
tion reports that in 1945, there were 166,000 seafarers who
sailed aboard 3,600 U.S. registered ships. Since World War
I, the international shipping business—the U.S. flag fleet—
has steadily given way to fewer and larger ships and com-
panies that register their ships under foreign flags. There
have been some legislated protections for U.S. shipping
firms, such as the Jones Act.? Despite these measures, by
1994, the U.S. flag fleet had declined to 309 deep-sea ves-
sels, providing 20,112 seafarers with employment.”

The strength of U.S. maritime labor unions and govern-
ment regulations have ensured deep sea transportation work-
ers aboard U. S. registered ships a high standard of living.
But, by using “flags of convenience,” some U.S.-based com-
panies have avoided hiring American crews, who are better
paid and better organized (20 labor unions represent about
90 percent of seafarers)" than crews of foreign (usually
Third-World) origin.

With the increasing globalization of trade, erosion of
tariff barriers, international sharing of resources, and ne-
gotiations in world maritime transportation, such as the
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),” there
is a new world order in store for deep sea transportation
workers, Only time will tell how American seafarers will
fare in the new global economy.


Table 1. Mean monthly earnings’ of workers on deep sea freighters by occupation and survey year

November | November | November | November | November July
Occupation 1987 1988 1989 1991 1983 1996
Deck department:
Able seamen (able seamen, watch) $1,557 $1,597 $1,607 $1,837 $1,839 $1,901
maintenance/deck - - : - 2,054 2,132
2,148 2,215 2,255 2,541 2,622 2,761
- - 1,221 1,428 1,442 1,402
2,186 2,306 2,377 2,636 2,787 3,072
: - - 2,627 2,808 2,780
1,329 - 1,580 1,812 1,929 2,005
1,831 1,920. 1,989 2,232 2,332 2,444
: 2,195 : : - :
Utility workers (engine 1,287 1,253 1,503 1,635. 2,017 2,205
WIP eIS ....ssssess000 1,299 1,356 1,383 1,571 1,652 1,698
i - - - - 2,066 2,148
Chief cooks and cooks-bakers 1,685 1,726 1,779 1,999 - -
- 1,642 1,699 1,976 - .
1,981 2,165 2177 2,431 2,559 2,701
1,089 1,075 1,201 1,390 1,400 1,446
Multiple departments:
General vessel assistants .. 1,289 1,284 1,244 1,492 1,556 1,887
‘Base monthly earnings, excluding premium, overtime, and 2. Occupational definitions in this group changed over time.
penalty pay. - Not surveyed.
Table 2. Mean monthly earnings' of workers on deep sea tankers by occupation and survey year
Occupation November November ‘November November November
1986 1988 1989 1991 1993
Deck department.
Able seamen (able seamen, watch) $1,432 $1,471 $1,548 $1,708 $1,889
Boatswains ) 1,856 1,934 2,029 2,252 2,477
Ordinary seamen 1,127 1,238 1,324 1,393 1,622
Engine department:
Oilers/dieset oilers. 1,867 1,828 1,879 2,120 2,255
Pumpers 1,838 1,918 2,128 2,325 2,556
Unlicensed junior engineers/QMED/
deck engine mechanics .. 1,817 1,873 1,798 1,931 2,089
Utility workers(engine utility workers) 1,409 1,435 1,494 1,703 1,983,
Wipers .... 1,242 1,241 1,346 > 1,530 1,657
‘Steward department?
Cooks ... : - - - 2,099
Chief cooks 1,595 1,622 1,693, 1,862 -
‘Second cooks/ second cooks bakers!
~ 1,731 1,738 1,752 1,991 -
2,106 2,229 2,139 2,361 2,586
1,062 1,122 1,187 1,310 1,449
Multiple departments:
General vessel assistants ... 1,308 1,291 1,186 1,382 1,550
*Base monthly earnings, excluding premium, overtime, and 2Qccupational definitions in this group changed over time.

Penalty pay. - Not surveyed.

Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 68