American Maritime Officers National President Paul Doell has retired for medical reasons after having worked for the union for more than 50 years.
In accordance with Article VIII, Section 1 (l) of the AMO National Constitution, the AMO National Executive Board will vote to select his successor as National President until the next AMO election of national officers.
Doell’s career with AMO began in 1972 at the union’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and he spent much of his early time on staff in the AMO Great Lakes homeport of Toledo, Ohio, working in various capacities.
Doell became the editor of communications, working directly with three AMO presidents over the course of more than two decades in this role, overseeing print and online publications and preparing all correspondence to AMO members in the Deep-Sea, Great Lakes, and Inland Waters sectors, and to other industry interests and organizations.
He maintained a managing role in the AMO administration’s communications after becoming the union’s legislative director in Washington DC, a position he held for several years. On Capitol Hill, he worked with key figures in both political parties and in both chambers of Congress to promote the privately-owned and operated U.S.-flag merchant fleet and to sustain jobs for U.S. merchant mariners in domestic and international trades.
Doell was elected national president of AMO in December 2014, and was re-elected to the office in 2018 and 2022.
He has a lifelong link to the union. His father, Ray Doell, was a founding member of the Brotherhood of Marine Engineers, the union that evolved into AMO. Ray Doell served as the BME’s New York port agent, as a contract negotiator, as director of membership benefits and as the BME’s first elected secretary-treasurer before returning to sea.