MM&P was created to protect the rights and working conditions of members of the seagoing maritime community. The union fulfills its mission by: representing MM&P members in negotiations with shipowners; supporting the efforts of other maritime unions to achieve decent working conditions; and working with international organizations to improve standards and conditions in the global maritime community. MM&P seeks to improve the maritime working environment through political action and involvement in the regulatory process that shapes laws and regulations governing maritime work. On the national level, MM&P represents the interests of mariners before Congress and the governmental agencies regulating shipping or whose decisions affect mariners, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maritime Administration, the Department of Defense and the Department of State. On the international level, because oceangoing shipping is regulated through United Nations organizations, MM&P actively participates in the work of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), representing the interests of all mariners at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).