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SIU · Founded 1938 · Camp Springs, Maryland, United States · United States
The Seafarers International Union of North America was founded 1938 by Harry Lundeberg on the West Coast during the industrial-union upheaval of the 1930s. Today it is the largest unlicensed-mariner union in North America, representing ~25,000 US seafarers in unlicensed positions (ratings, ABs, oilers, wipers, stewards) on US-flag deep-sea vessels, plus a substantial share of the MSC civilian mariner fleet unlicensed billets. SIU contracts cover the same major US-flag operators as the officer unions (Maersk Line Limited, OSG, TOTE, Crowley, APL Marine Services) but on the ratings side, and — critically — the Piney Point training campus (Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education) offers the full USCG STCW ladder for unlicensed mariners, including specialised endorsements (tanker, gas, PSSR). For US-flag unlicensed mariners, the SIU + Piney Point pipeline is the primary entry route into the industry; the union hall system also matches members to available berths on a seniority-plus-availability basis, which is how most SIU crew get their voyages.
https://www.seafarers.org/contact — Camp Springs HQ + hiring halls in Baltimore, Norfolk, Houston, Piney Point, San Francisco, Wilmington, Honolulu.