Tanker mates fight Saltchuk’s delays, demand first union contracts

Baltimore, MD – Licensed deck officers at Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) and Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) are fighting to turn their overwhelming 2024 union votes into first contracts. The companies, both owned by Saltchuk, have met the workers’ decision to organize with prolonged resistance and delays.

The officers, known as mates, voted to join the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P). They are seeking enforceable protections covering pay, benefits, safety and working conditions. Nearly two years after choosing their union, they are still fighting to get those agreements.

These mates are responsible for navigating large tanker vessels and handling the cargo, which can include up to 1.3 million barrels of oil on a single ship. They navigate tankers carrying the fuels that supply gas stations, airports and industry, and oversee the hazardous transfers that bring those cargoes ashore. Their labor connects the petroleum supply chain from port to port, and their decisions carry consequences for everyone aboard, as well as the ports and coastal communities along their routes.

In March 2026, the National Labor Relations Board unanimously affirmed the officers’ right to union representation in separate decisions involving ATC and OSG. MM&P renewed its demand to bargain, but the companies are challenging these decisions in federal court, as if the NLRB doesn’t matter.

“Our commitment to our members is steadfast, and we will never falter in the battle to defend their rights,” said MM&P International President Captain Don Josberger.

The fight exposes a familiar obstacle facing newly-organized workers such as at Amazon and Starbucks: winning an election does not automatically make an employer negotiate a contract. Delay leaves management under control of working conditions while workers must keep organizing to enforce the decision they already made.

Despite that resistance, the mates have demonstrated that acting together can force the companies to retreat. In September 2025, management moved to downgrade healthcare coverage and increase workers’ premiums and co-pays. Officers challenged the changes directly while MM&P demanded bargaining over the unilateral cuts.

Within two weeks of the union’s demand, ATC and OSG reversed course, maintaining the existing health plans, premiums and copays. A September 19 campaign update from the union credited the reversal to the combined pressure of officers questioning management and the union demanding negotiations.

The healthcare victory protected workers and their families from higher costs. It also showed what collective action could accomplish before the first contract was in place. But the officers’ organizing extends beyond defending a single benefit. They are fighting for agreements that establish lasting protection.

MM&P has called for support from the broader labor movement. They have organized politicians, other unions, community organizations, academics and leaders of faith into a broad coalition. Through the Mates United campaign, officers and supporters are building public pressure on Saltchuk. A public petition demands that the company respect their choice and bargain first contracts. A separate faith solidarity letter invites clergy and lay religious leaders to join that demand.

Supporters can sign and share the public petition. Faith leaders can add their names to the faith solidarity letter. Academics can sign the academic solidarity letter. Everyone can follow the campaign on Facebook and Instagram.

Ultimately, winning first contracts will depend on the mates’ collective action and the power they build aboard the ships. The officers are building organizing committees and bringing more coworkers into the fight, turning their overwhelming union votes into an organization capable of sustaining pressure across both fleets. Support from the broader labor movement strengthens that effort, but its foundation is the workers themselves. Saltchuk owns the tankers; the mates’ labor keeps them moving. By organizing together, they can turn that indispensable role into the leverage needed to win.

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