Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association
MEBA · Founded 1875 · Washington, D.C., United States · United States
- Membership scope
- ~4,500 American licensed marine engineers on US-flag merchant vessels — the country's largest deep-sea engineer union. Also represents licensed deck officers on a growing number of contracts.
- Key CBA framework
- MEBA-MSC Standard Agreement (civilian mariner fleet); MEBA District 1 Deep-Sea Agreement (commercial deep-sea)
- Website
- mebaunion.org
What this union does
The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association is the oldest continuous US maritime union, founded 1875 in New York City. It represents ~4,500 US licensed marine engineers working on the country's remaining Jones Act US-flag deep-sea fleet plus the Military Sealift Command civilian mariner corps. MEBA's contract portfolio covers virtually the entire commercially significant US-flag deep-sea fleet — the union has exclusive engineer representation with Matson (Pacific container), Crowley (bulk + tanker), APL Marine Services (US-flag container), Alaska Tanker Company, and the MSC civilian fleet (Navy tender, dry cargo, and ammunition ship operators). The union also runs the Calhoun MEBA Engineering School in Baltimore, which is USCG-approved for the full ladder of engineer licence upgrades from third assistant to unlimited chief. For US-flag engineer aspirants, the MEBA + Calhoun pipeline is often the fastest route from cadet to unlimited-tonnage chief-engineer employment.
Contact route
https://mebaunion.org/contact — headquarters + regional halls in Baltimore, Norfolk, San Francisco, and Honolulu.