MTD in The News March 2023

MTD IN THE NEWS | March 9, 2023 IAMAW International President Martinez Appointed to Biden's Export Council IAMAW International President Robert Martinez, Jr. IAM International President and Metal Trades Department Vice President Robert Martinez Jr. has been appointed...

Fair Winds and Following Seas

“We wish President Sacco a long and happy retirement,” said Metal Trades Department President Jimmy Hart. “Brother Sacco has been a fierce advocate for his members for more than three decades. He is a stalwart in the labor and maritime communities. I will personally miss our chats and his wise counsel. Congratulations, President Sacco.”

The United States Can and Should be the Next Big Shipbuilding Market!

Upgrading, renewing, and expanding the Jones Act fleet is the next huge ship building opportunity in the world today. It has been more than three decades since America held the number one position in worldwide tonnage production. In the intervening 30+ years, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea, and now China have ascended to the top of the worldwide shipbuilding industry building large fleets of new marine assets for the global economy. Today foreign yards are sold out thru 2027.

Wake Up America, It’s Time to SEA the Future

After World War II, the United States was the world’s leading shipbuilder. But in 1981, President Reagan eliminated its long-standing subsidy program which left American shipyards to compete with heavily subsidized foreign rivals like China. Today, the U.S. ranks 19th in the world for commercial shipbuilding, accounting for just 0.35 percent of global new construction. And we have become heavily dependent on China and East Asia for products and resources, most of which are imported by sea.

Metal Trades & Offshore Wind: The Hart of the Matter

The Department of Energy Wind Technologies Office recently posted “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Offshore Wind Energy” on its website. While the post is great, it should have been 11 things. The 11th item would note: ‘America needs to develop the manufacturing and production infrastructure necessary to build offshore wind farms. We need to build Jones Act-compliant ships.’

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