To The Families Of Offshore Workers
I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be a guest writer for this blog. Although I’m a Louisiana native and a mom, I’ve never actually lived in Lafayette. So, you might be asking yourself what in the world I’m doing writing for Lafayette Mom.
I’ve spent my career focused on Louisiana coastal restoration and offshore energy management in the Gulf of Mexico. When I was navigating newborn life, my husband would leave before the sun came up to work as an engineer in a Plaquemines shipyard or down to Port Fourchon to make sure those offshore supply vessels were safe. I now lead an organization called True Transition, which centers oil and gas workers in the conversation about workplace safety and energy security in America.
A lot of people might know what an offshore platform looks like, but most people will never know what it feels like to go to work on one or to love someone making that journey. In a recent survey of American oil and gas workers, my fellow founder Leo Lindner, shared the forgotten perspective of a father and husband eagerly awaiting his return flight the following day. Roy Kemp never got to make that journey. Our current organizer, Justin Solet, recently shared a story of having to protect his crew from threats of being “run off” for halting offshore operations during a storm with 25mph wind and rain as he and his crew were pulling and cutting coil tubing that had gotten lost down a well.
It’s stories like these that I can’t let go of as I sit in my heated home writing from my powered computer. My comfort is possible because of the people who endure these conditions and time away from their family.
But I knew I couldn’t get the full picture of life as an offshore worker unless I looked to the people every “hand” is thinking of getting back to after their shift: their loved ones. I expected to find groups of offshore spouses supporting each other or sharing information. What I didn’t expect was the heartfelt stories I found on Lafayette Mom’s blog about the difficulties and fears spouses of offshore workers are facing every day – the pressures on the parents doing it all while their spouse is away, fears of their spouse losing their job, anxiety over making retirement savings last after a spouse was let go with no explanation, and overall, a sense of pride, gratitude, and perseverance.
It’s for these reasons that I reached out to Lafayette Mom to share a free and anonymous hotline we have created with Emergency Legal Responders called the Offshore Workers’ Legal Line – OWLL – where offshore workers can find free and confidential answers on workplace safety compliance, legal rights on the job, workers’ compensation, and any other offshore work-related concerns.
The OWLL hotline operates every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and you can reach us at:
Phone: (844) 212-5447
My team at True Transition and I know that offshore workers’ spouses, parents, siblings and friends want fair and safe working conditions for their loved ones, and we want you to know you are not alone. We are grateful to the people going to work to power our nation and we’re grateful to those taking care of them from home.
About The Author
Megan Biven is a Louisiana native living in Vienna, Austria with her husband and lego master 8-year-old. She is deeply committed to creating good Louisiana jobs doing the things that need doing. When she’s not quasi-homeschooling her kiddo in English and American history (he goes to an Austrian school where he learns in German), she’s trying to learn German herself and has just jumped on the sourdough bandwagon (send tips and prayers).
