Delegates of the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO, gathered last month at the quadrennial convention and adopted a resolution titled “Support the Jones Act,” putting our movement firmly on record against the waiver now hollowing out our domestic fleet. The MTD declared that it fully stands behind the Jones Act and objects to any waiver that is anything short of completely necessary. Now, we need your voice to ensure this demand is heard in Washington.
For more than a century, the Jones Act has required cargo moving between U.S. ports to move on ships built by Americans, owned by Americans and crewed by Americans. It is the foundation of our domestic fleet which multiplies money through the American economy and prevents national security threats along our coastlines, rivers and inland waterways.
On March 17, this legislation was suspended for a 45-day period and later extended for an ostensible national security threat and in order to “save money” for Americans at the gas pump. However, the data is in and the verdict simply put: the waiver failed Americans.
As John D. McCown of the Center for Maritime Strategy has documented, California is the state receiving the most inbound waiver shipments, but has actually posted the largest gasoline price increase since the war with Iran began. Florida, by far the largest inbound destination for Jones Act tankers, tells the opposite story: its prices sit below the national average, and that gap has more than doubled.
The waiver was sold to working families as relief at the gas pump but Navigistics analysis found no credible evidence of price relief over an 11-week review and like we see in Florida, on several routes, Jones Act vessels were actually cheaper than their foreign-flag counterparts. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows the numbers: only about 6.5% of U.S. gasoline ever moves by vessel, and, as the AFL-CIO has pointed out, domestic shipping accounts for less than a penny per gallon of what you pay.
According to an after-action analysis by Navigistics Consulting of U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) waiver data, not a single one of the 78 documented waiver voyages met the legal military-necessity standard. Every one of those movements involved commercial-grade material that doesn’t even meet the Defense Department’s fuel specifications. The worst part is that American vessels were available and ready for 86.5% of the qualifying voyages but were sailed past by foreign workers due to the Administration’s persistent use of the waiver. How is that making America great? If anything, it risks the future of our economic and national security.
By the American Maritime Partnership’s (AMP) count, the U.S. domestic maritime industry is more than 45,000 American-built vessels, nearly 650,000 American jobs, $41.6 billion in wages, and over $154 billion in annual economic output. Behind those figures are union halls, shipyards, and families. This year alone, AMP reports, more than 1,250 graduates of our maritime academies are entering the industry. Young mariners who are starting careers just as a blanket waiver tells them their government will hand their work to a foreign crew whenever it’s convenient.
What can you do? Use your voice: help end the waiver
The waiver expires August 17. The single most important thing right now is to make sure it is not extended again. Here’s how to be heard before the deadline:
- Call and write your Senators and Representatives. Tell them plainly: let the March 17 Jones Act waiver expire on August 17, oppose any further extension, and demand that DHS return to the narrow, case-by-case standard the law requires. The Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
- Use the American Maritime Voices action tool. American Maritime Voices has an online form that lets you send a message to your elected officials in under two minutes. Share the link across your local, your port council, and your crew: Use Your VOICE.
- Back the SHIPS for America Act. Ending this waiver is the immediate fight; rebuilding the fleet is the long one. Ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor and move the SHIPS for America Act to restore cargo preference and revive American shipbuilding.
- Put the facts in front of people. Share the Navigistics after-action findings: no military necessity, no price relief, work handed to China. Tag your representatives when sharing information on social media posts.
- Show up! Fill the union halls and port council meetings. Ships move cargo just like numbers move policy. Our collective voice is the only way to cut through the noise in Washington.
One hundred and six years ago, this country decided that Americans should carry America’s cargo. MTD stands firmly in that decision and with your help, we will bring an end to the waiver and finally start building back America’s maritime fleet.