Union Rules Hamper Oil Clean Up
Brian Wilson at Fox News asks an intriguing question: Have laws favoring Big Labor union hindered the clean up of the oil in the Gulf? Evidence seems to suggest the answer is yes: Foreign companies possessing some of the world’s most advanced oil skimming ships say they are being kept out of efforts to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf because of a 1920’s law known as the Jones Act -- a protectionist law that requires vessels working in US waters be built in the US and be crewed by US workers. Joseph Carafano of the Heritage Foundation has been studying the matter and wonders, “Are we accepting all the international assistance in the maritime domain that we can, and is the Jones Act an impediment to that?” The Coast Guard and the Administration are quick to point out that some foreign technology is being used in the current cleanup effort. Including: