[2] After World War II, McKay sailed as a second engineer on a Sinclair Oil tanker.
The labor agreement with Isthmian was secured in August 1951,[3] and in 1953, McKay was chosen to direct the union's Department of Welfare and Special Services.
[4] In this position, he helped the union gain jurisdiction over the east coast tugboat industry.
[5] Three years later, Wilbur Dickey resigned the presidency and McKay took the position on January 17, 1957.
The younger McKay later resigned the office after he was convicted of "three counts of mail fraud and two recordkeeping offenses.