A new wrinkle has emerged as the Republicans try to ram through passage of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Thanks to a Senate amendment written by Sen. John McCain, about 1,200 jobs will be lost in our norther section of the state. WPR audio:
Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain has filed an amendment to repeal the Jones Act, which allows only U.S.-built ships to carry cargo between U.S. ports. McCain said in a release that the law hinders free trade and raises prices for consumers due to shipping costs.Still want to pass the pipeline bill?
Members of a Great Lakes labor and management coalition say the move would hurt the U.S. shipping industry. Tom Curelli is with the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force and is operations director for Superior’s Fraser Shipyards said a repeal may mean more Canadian competition and fewer U.S. jobs. “For every trip they take, that’s one less trip for our vessels to operate on. When you remove enough trips and enough tonnage, you tie up the U.S. flag vessels and you don’t put them to work,” said Curelli.
Curelli said around 1,500 jobs may be affected in the Twin Ports and roughly 60,000 across the Great Lakes.
Besides attacking US Great Lakes shipping industry, KXL will also eliminate US trucking and train jobs. No one ever talks about that.
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