How Unions Can Help the Gulf OIl Disaster and Themselves

There's an old law, the Jones Act, which forbids boats not built in the US from operating in US waters. It's currently preventing foreign nations from providing boats that are designed for getting oil out of water from coming to help in the Gulf.


flickr image by kk+

President Obama could suspend the law as President Bush did during Katrinia. The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial Saturday, says " in the two weeks immediately after the spill, 13 foreign governments reached out and offered their assistance. The U.S. response? Thanks, but no thanks."

The WSJ claims that the reason we're not accepting the help is because of Obama's fealty to unions.

Union leaders should take the WSJ's Op-ed as a cue. They should encourage Obama, particularly ship-building related unions, to suspend the Jones Act temporarily, for at least six months, and encourage Obama to invite other nations to send their oil scrubbing, cleaning, removing ships as fast as possible. They can also encourage Obama and congress to create a budget, paid for by BP and any emergency funds sourced from oil drillers, to build US boats. Add those boats to the coast guard fleet.

These are times that require extraordinary leadership. Obama needs all the help he can get. Unions can be heroes by letting go of rights that don't do them any good anyway, at least in the short run, and may actually help their workers in the long run.