Note: QMED = Qualified Member of the Engine Department
July 24, 1997
Dear Representative:
We are the officers and crew members of the M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA, the largest U.S.-Flag vessel on the Great Lakes. We carry Jones Act cargo, primarily Montana coal from Superior, Wisconsin, to a power plant on the St. Clair River in Michigan. Every 5 1/2 to 6 days, we deliver the equivalent of 6 100-car unit train loads of coal. Last year alone, we carried over 3,000,000 tons of this coal. We did it safely, swiftly, and in a manner which did not degrade our environment. We work hard, under all sorts of conditions - from the ice in spring, into the summer, through the gales of November, and back into the ice of winter.
We have given up a lot for this job, counting among the hardships absence from our families for long periods of time. We make a good living, with good benefits for us and our families. We are able to educate our children and pay our mortgages. We are productive members of society. We are all tax-paying American citizens. And we are angry. The movement afoot to "reform" (read: "abolish") the Jones Act would put us out of our jobs. The so-called Jones Act Reform Coalition twists facts, invents others, and generally insults us and our profession.
They claim their bill will create jobs for the American mariner, but this is not true - our jobs will go to foreigners because of a loophole in the law wider than Lake Superior. The provision allows foreign flag ships to move cargo between U.S. ports WITHOUT employing American sailors, WITHOUT paying taxes and WITHOUT compliance with U.S. safety and environmental laws. There is no way this ship and its owner, The Interlake Steamship Company, could ever compete under those circumstances. "Reform" of the Jones Act will simply be the end of the U.S. Flag fleet.
There is a resolution in the House in support of the Jones Act (H. Con. Res 65). As of today, 187 members of the House have signed this resolution. (LCA note: As of the August 5 recess, 214 members have signed.) I urge you to join with your fellow legislators and voice your support for our nation's Cabotage laws. If you have already signed, thank you for your support. We think we earn it every day by safely and efficiently delivering cargo on the Great Lakes, and will do so as long as there is shipping on the Lakes, provided the Jones Act remains the foundation of U.S. maritime policy.
Sincerely,
Officers and Crew Members of M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA
Note: QMED = Qualified Member of the Engine Department
