University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Theses and Major Papers Marine Affairs 1979 Maritime Unions & U.S. Shipping Policy Jon Lucas University of Rhode Island Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/ma_etds Part of the Legislation Commons, and the Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Recommended Citation Lucas, Jon, "Maritime Unions & U.S. Shipping Policy" (1979). Theses and Major Papers. Paper 122. This Major Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Marine Affairs at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Major Papers by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. MARITIME UNlONS & U.S. SHIPPING POLICY by JON LUCAS SUBMITTED IN PARTlAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF MARINE AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 1979 ii ABSTRACT This paper explores the role played by U.S. maritime unions in influencing the formation of American shipping policy. The thesis of the paper is that maritime unions have exerted great influence on le gislators, through lobbying efforts to foster special-interest legis lation which benefits union members at the expense of the taxpayer. The research is based on standard works on shipping and maritime labor relations, Hearings of the House and Senate Merchant Marine Com mittees, and newspaper and magazine articles which trace the progress of various pieces of maritime legislation. Only the activities of the seagoing unions are discussed, and the paper does not deal with similar activities by longshoremen's unions and other labor organizations in directly associated with the maritime industry.