A judge appointed by the Bush Administration ruled against the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department’s challenge of the use by a U.S. shipyard of large sections of tankers manufactured in South Korea and still claim the ships qualify under the Jones Act as “wholly built” in the U.S.
The Jones Act is designed to ensure the U.S maintains a domestic shipbuilding capability. The Metal Trades Department (MTD) has been in a long dispute with the U.S. Coast Guard over its practice of importing major sections of ships and claiming the ships are still U.S. built.
"The U.S. flag flying over ships that are essentially manufactured in South Korea and not the in this country is a disgrace,” said GVP Lynn D. Tucker, Jr. "Shipbuilding should be a cornerstone of American economic growth and national security, instead of allowing its sea services and shipbuilding industry to erode."
Judge Gene Pratter was nominated to the U.S District Court by President Bush. Pratter ruled that vessels can be tagged as “built in the U.S.” as long as “major components” of the hull or superstructure are fabricated domestically. Other components can be built elsewhere, but must be installed in U.S. shipyards. Pratter left it up to the Coast Guard to determine what constitutes major components.
In an analysis of Judicial appointments by President Bush, the non-profit group Alliance for Justice has noted the Bush administration has “pursued a widely acknowledge and largely successful campaign of packing the courts with conservative judges” and that Pratter’s record in employment law decisions “illustrate a “bias against employees seeking redress for workplace grievances.”
