It’s not often that you find someone like me (a plaintiffs lawyer who regularly sues marine companies on behalf of injured maritime workers) agreeing with anything coming from those companies. But when it comes to attacks on the Jones Act and shadowy corporate groups spreading false propaganda with the sole aim of increasing their own profits, we both find ourselves aligned in support of the Jones Act.
The Jones Act has two main purposes. The first purpose is to promote a robust American merchant fleet by promoting U.S. shipping interests at home and abroad. Without the Jones Act, all commercial ships would be manned by foreign workers forced to labor under terrifically dangerous conditions for pay that is so insignificant it is (or should be) morally repugnant to any advanced nation, including our own. Without the Jones Act, our harbors would be crawling with unknown foreign workers, some of whom may wish our country ill.
