Maritime

Vote for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act Dear Representative: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I urge you to support the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (H.R. 4005), which is expected to be voted on later today. The bill includes a number of provisions that will strengthen […]

Tonight, President Obama will declare 2014 “a year of action” to expand opportunities for the middle class. We can work with that. Transportation unions are focused like a laser on rebuilding the economy and the middle class by modernizing and expanding our transportation system, and along the way rescuing millions of Americans caught in the […]

[As published Dec. 27 by Edward Wytkind in the Huffington Post] Ebenezer Scrooge would love America’s approach to funding its transportation needs, but the miserly refusal by too many of our leaders to invest in transportation could haunt us for decades to come. That’s why our nation’s holiday wish list for 2014 must include a comprehensive […]

[As published by Edward Wytkind in the Huffington Post] Ebenezer Scrooge would love America’s approach to funding its transportation needs, but the miserly refusal by too many of our leaders to invest in transportation could haunt us for decades to come. That’s why our nation’s holiday wish list for 2014 must include a comprehensive vision […]

In the past several months, both the House and the Senate have moved to reform and enhance spending on U.S. ports, harbors and waterways in an effort to reverse decades of neglect and to put thousands of construction workers back on the job.  TTD supports these funding reforms and the broader Water Resources and Development […]

America’s transportation systems suffered several casualties as some politicians decided a couple of weeks ago that they would rather shut down our government than keep America moving. One of those was House floor action on the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), a bill critical to keeping our nation’s waterways flowing with trade, maintaining […]

It may be tempting to treat the recent government shutdown like a nightmare and just wake up and move on as if it never happened.  Unfortunately, the damage caused by this reckless stunt is all too real while the lessons of this sad chapter in American history must be clearly understood so we don’t repeat […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement in support of H.R.3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (WRRDA):   “The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today will consider a critical, bipartisan water infrastructure bill that will boost American competitiveness and create middle-class jobs. The legislation contains needed […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement in support of Senate passage of the Water Resources Development Act (S.601): “The passage of the Water Resources and Development Act today brings much needed reforms to harbor maintenance funding. The bill puts us on a path to fully funding our harbor maintenance […]

There’s plenty of disagreement in Washington over the role of government.  For me, “more or less” isn’t the question.  What interests me is smart government.  Don’t we all want smart policies that keep us strong and competitive? Maritime cargo preference laws help us do that and they need to be strengthened, not undermined. Our cargo […]