U.S. Labor Seeks Ban on Some Foreign Ship Parts
The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has sued the U.S. Coast Guard over allowing domestic shipyards to use preassembled foreign ship parts and engines, Ron Ault, president of the MTD, said on Tuesday. Preassembled ship parts require little or no assembly at U.S. shipyards, and cut the need for U.S. labor at these yards, he told Reuters in an interview. MTD, a trade department of the American federation of labor unions, coordinates negotiating, organizing and legislative efforts of affiliated metal-working and related crafts and trade unions. Angela McArdle, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman, said it was the Coast Guard's policy not to comment on pending litigation. MTD's suit, filed late last week in the U.S.
Report: Va. Shipbuilders Unhappy with New Port Security Rules
A federal plan to screen port workers could drive up the cost of building and repairing Navy ships while doing nothing to improve security, industry officials say. Under the new system, longshoremen, truckers and other transportation workers who need access to secure port areas will undergo FBI background checks and submit fingerprints that will be embedded on biometric cards. But the federal law mandating the system--officially known as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential--also extends to some shipyards, including Navy shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News, the region's largest private employer with 19,000 workers. Ship repair yard officials are confused about the law: some say their companies fall under the law, others say they do not.
Shipyards Say Federal Security Rule May be Redundant
A federal plan to screen port workers could have unintended consequences for some local shipyards - driving up the cost to build and repair Navy ships while doing nothing to improve security, industry officials say. The new worker credential system, expected to take effect next year, is aimed at beefing up security at ports to guard against terrorism. Longshoremen, truckers and other transportation workers needing unescorted access to secure areas of the ports will have to obtain new biometric identification cards, requiring them to undergo FBI background checks and to submit fingerprints that will be embedded on the new cards. As written…
Union Questions Aker Philadelphia's Jones Act Compliance
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the AFL-CIO accused Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc. of undercutting the struggling U.S. shipbuilding industry by using too many foreign-made components in its new vessels. Aker, formerly Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, denied the allegations, and asserted it is leading the industry's rebirth by expanding its business using mostly local workers and suppliers. The war of words began after the labor federation's Metal Trades Department, representing about 600 Philadelphia shipyard workers, said Thursday that it was asking the Coast Guard to probe Aker's use of components and prefabricated parts from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and other South Korean companies.
