Maritime Trades ALF CIO
Search
Close this search box.

MTD Affiliates Hit Capitol Hill to Show Appreciation of Jones Act Support

blog-stock-new
Posing with US Sen Chuck Schumer in his Capitol office are (from left, seated) UA Local 32 Specialist Leanne Guier, Schumer, and Metal Trades President James Hart; (back row) MTD Exec Sec-Treas Daniel Duncan, MTD Exec Brd Member Brett McCoy, UA Local 32 Pres Eric Gilbreath, UA Political Aide Niko Bumpaous, SIU Legis Aide Terry Turner and SMART Intl Rep Larry Holbert.

Union members belonging to several MTD affiliates circulated across Capitol Hill on Tuesday to thank members of Congress and their staff for their ongoing support of the Jones Act.

Led by MTD Executive Secretary-Treasurer Daniel Duncan and Executive Board Member Brett McCoy (from the United Association), nearly 75 brothers and sisters worked with AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department President James Hart and Dredging Contractors of America Executive Director and CEO William Doyle for a rally outside the steps of the Capitol before heading to legislators’ offices.

Thanking US Rep (and IBEW member) Linda Sanchez for her Jones Act support are (from left) IBEW Govt Employees Dir Paul O’Connor, Dredging Contractors Exec Dir/CEO William Doyle, Sanchez, SIU Legis Aide Terry Turner, SIU Port Agent John Hoskins and IBEW Intl Rep John Walsh.

Duncan, Hart and Doyle spoke about the importance of the Jones Act for the nation’s economic and domestic security. They pointed out that the Jones Act directly and indirectly provides “approximately 500,000 decent, family-sustaining American jobs resulting in nearly $100 billion annually for the economy.” In addition, American mariners working on Jones Act vessels offer security on the nation’s inland waterways and harbors.

Representatives from the MTD-affiliated Electrical Workers; Machinists; Seafarers; Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers; Transportation-Communications Union and United Association donned red, white and blue “Jones Act All American” lapel stickers to show their appreciation. Each legislator or their aide received a booklet containing Jones Act facts and figures, including the six-month data revealing 114,000 containers have been delivered by American-crewed Jones Act vessels since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico.

US Sen Maria Cantwell wears her “Jones Act All American” lapel sticker.

Union members met with US Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) as well as US Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Linda Sanchez (D-CA). They also discussed the Jones Act with aides from other Senate and House offices representing both political parties reflecting the continued strong bipartisan support of the measure, which has helped protect US national, economic and homeland security for nearly a century.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Fill out the form below the get the latest updates

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Share this post