The Unions That Crewed America’s Merchant Fleet

For generations, American merchant mariners shipped out through a handful of maritime unions that manned the deck, engine, and steward departments of the U.S.-flag fleet. Their members worked the same asbestos-laden ships described across this section — and many of those unions still maintain retiree associations and reunion networks where former mariners stay in touch.

The Major Maritime Unions

  • SIU — Seafarers International Union. Represented unlicensed deck, engine, and steward crews across a large share of the U.S.-flag merchant fleet. Engine-department members faced the heaviest asbestos exposure.
  • MEBA — Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association. The union of licensed marine engineers — the men who ran and maintained the asbestos-insulated engine and boiler rooms.
  • AMO — American Maritime Officers. Licensed deck and engine officers aboard U.S.-flag vessels.
  • MM&P — International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots. Licensed deck officers and masters.
  • NMU — National Maritime Union (historic). A major mid-century unlicensed-crew union whose members served the WWII and postwar fleets before the union’s later merger.

Why Union Records and Reunions Matter

Union hiring halls and dispatch records can help reconstruct which ships a mariner sailed and when — the kind of service history that supports a maritime asbestos claim. Retiree groups and ship reunions are also where former mariners and their families often first learn that a diagnosis decades after service may trace back to the asbestos they lived among at sea.

If You Sailed Union

Whether you shipped through the SIU, MEBA, AMO, MM&P, the old NMU, or another maritime union, the asbestos aboard those ships did not distinguish by union card. If you spent a career at sea and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer — or lost a loved one who did — an experienced asbestos attorney can review the exposure history and the civil claim that may be available against the manufacturers that allegedly supplied the asbestos aboard and the trusts they established.