Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association

The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) is the oldest maritime trade union in the United States still currently in existence, established in 1875.

Merchant mariners deliver critical defense cargo to United States armed forces in times of military conflict.

[2] Steamship owners on the Mississippi and Great Lakes were competing with one another and demanding greater speeds from their vessels.

[2] This increase in speed greatly reduced safety in the engine room due to fires and boiler explosions.

[2] The first gathering of the Buffalo Association of Engineers in 1854 an essential role model for the unionization of MEBA.

[2] When wages started to be cut again, cities such as Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit took after the Buffalo association and created organizations of their own.

This organization called itself the National Marine Engineers Association and chose Garret Douw of Buffalo as its president.

After Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association's formation, the union lobbied Washington legislators to pass bills in 1884 and 1896 that would make it law for all American vessels to possess only American officers and to grant the ability for marine engineers to attain licenses, respectably.

[10] The maritime school offers over fifty courses to union members and outside engineering professionals (as of May 1, 2007) and provides living arrangements for attendees.

World's Fair Association No. 6 letterhead of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, St. Louis, Missouri in 1901
Colleges like the California Maritime Academy train engineering cadets in engine rooms who may seek to join MEBA after graduating.
A map of the port locations that MEBA works with