FRONTLINE VOICES
The Jones Act Waiver, American Maritime Workers, and the Story Mainstream News Isn't Telling
Special Guest: Roland "Rex" Rexha — Secretary-Treasurer, Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) | AFL-CIO Executive Council
WHY THIS STORY MATTERS: While mainstream news covers every Trump tweet and every congressional hearing, one of the most consequential attacks on American workers is happening almost entirely out of public view. The Trump administration has issued and extended a sweeping Jones Act waiver — allowing foreign-flagged ships crewed by non-American workers to move oil, gasoline, diesel, LNG, and fertilizer between U.S. ports. Maritime unions, domestic shipping operators, and now members of Congress have all condemned it. It has not lowered gas prices by a measurable amount. It has directly threatened the jobs, livelihoods, and national security contribution of American maritime workers. And almost no one outside the industry is talking about it.
We also discuss the floating humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Straits of Hormuz where 20,000 maritime workers are stranded on 1,500 vessels. Roland explains how union crews aboard US flagged vessels enjoy workplace protections that so many maritime workers on "flags of convenience" and so-called ghost ships stranded in the Straits of Hormuz don't.
Roland also describes the increasing risks to the environment and labor posed from the push to automate and use AI to strip humans from the transport sector entirely in a reckless pursuit of profits over people.
He cites as an example the 2024 catastrophic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse after it was rammed by the Dali, a rudderless massive cargo ship that was trying to leave the port without a tug escort.
On March 26 a crew of a half-dozen immigrant men in a non-union paving crew fell 185 feet to their deaths from Baltimore’s signature bridge.
Police were able to close the bridge to traffic just before the catastrophic collision took place after the powerless and adrift Singaporean-flagged Dali got out a mayday call at 1:30 a.m.
The alert, however, did not come fast enough to save members of the road crew who were doing dangerous construction work on the vital span while Baltimore slept. Like so many immigrants before them, the half-dozen workers’ sudden and violent death highlighted the precarity of their lives in a nation that both relies on — and reviles them.
Fifty-six of the 4,700 containers aboard the Dali contained hazardous materials, a top Coast Guard official told reporters at a White House briefing. Officials said there was “no risk to the public.”
The non-union highway crew from Maryland-based Brawner Builders were immigrants who hailed from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico. The corporate media is describing the catastrophic event as a kind of freak accident. Immigrant rights and labor union activists, however, see it as the logical consequence of a brutal global trade regime that cuts corners to maximize profits — one that puts workers and the public at risk, while enabling officials and regulators to cheer from the sidelines.
The Dali, built in 2014, is a 1,000-foot floating behemoth that can hold 10,000 shipping containers and is operated by just a 22-member crew. The ship had been inspected last year in Chile when a broken pressure gauge was replaced.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard passed an inspection in September. Reuters reported the ship was involved in an accident back in 2016 when it was trying to leave Antwerp and its hull was sufficiently damaged to “impair its seaworthiness.”
Rexha says the Dali disaster highlights the downside of not having ships escorted by tug boats until they are out on the open sea away from critical infrastructure — as well as the risks created by building larger and larger vessels while using automation as justification for reducing crew size, and the wide variance between U.S. maritime safety standards and the rest of the world.
“As for having tug assistance when they are going under a bridge, these are changes of policy where we defer to what the mandatory policies are of the individual port; what they deem is the safest way to operate,” Rexha says. “I think in all ports there’s going to be a revisiting of how we operate and what’s the safest way to move vessels out into safe water. When you are talking about a large cruise ship or a cargo ship like this one, if they are out of the harbor and they lose power they are not going to hit anything, they are in the middle of the ocean. But as they are operating in local waters that’s where you have to be really diligent.”
Proper crewing saves lives and saves money.
The closure of the port cost the local economy $15 million a day.
The bridge collapse and closure of the Port of Baltimore caused a massive trade disruption of national consequence. In 2023, the Port of Baltimore, a naturally deep water port, handled close to $81 billion in cargo.
The bridge won't be replaced until 2030 at a cost estimated to be between $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion.
GUEST PROFILE
Roland "Rex" Rexha
Secretary-Treasurer, Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) | AFL-CIO Executive Council | Washington, DC | mebaunion.org
Roland "Rex" Rexha is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association — the oldest maritime labor union in the United States, established in 1875 — and one of the most consequential labor leaders in the country. Born and raised in New York City, Rex is a first-generation American. His family escaped Communist Albania in search of the American Dream — a story that shapes how he understands what American workers are owed and what they are capable of building. He graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He is also a proud holder of a Master's degree in International Leadership and Negotiation. Rex joined MEBA in 2005 and has been a member of the union family for 20 years. He sailed as an engineer on Deep-Sea vessels for the union, gaining experience with Interlake, Central Gulf, APL, Keystone, and Patriot. He is a proud recipient of the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal — earned twice. He also served as a commissioned officer in the United States military, honorably discharged as a Lieutenant.
Over more than a decade with the Staten Island Ferries, Rex achieved what many considered impossible: he settled the LARGEST PREVAILING WAGE CASE IN NEW YORK CITY HISTORY — resolving a 13-year contractual dispute over the Staten Island Ferry that had stalled through multiple mayoral administrations. The settlement required political and social media pressure from union affiliates and a sustained campaign to finally bring the Adams administration to the table. This is widely considered one of the most significant labor law victories in New York City's recent history.
Rex was elected to the AFL-CIO's Executive Council — making him the YOUNGEST PERSON ever to hold a vice presidency on the AFL-CIO Executive Council. He now serves as Secretary-Treasurer of MEBA and sits on the American Maritime Congress Board of Directors.
MEBA represents approximately 23,400 USCG-licensed engine and deck officers serving on U.S.-flagged vessels in both foreign and domestic trade. These are the trained professionals who keep America's commercial fleet moving — and who are ready, in times of military conflict, to deliver critical defense cargo to U.S. armed forces.
On the Jones Act waiver: MEBA has been among the loudest and most consistent voices condemning the Trump administration's sweeping waiver extension, calling it a threat to American workers, domestic shipbuilding, mariner recruitment, and national security.
THE FACTS — THE JONES ACT AND THE WAIVER
WHAT IS THE JONES ACT?
The Jones Act — formally the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 — requires that all cargo shipped between U.S. ports must be transported on vessels that are: (1) built in the United States, (2) owned by U.S. citizens, (3) registered under the U.S. flag, and (4) crewed by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. It is a cornerstone of American maritime law and has been in continuous effect for over 100 years.
The law exists for two interconnected reasons: to protect American maritime jobs and the domestic shipbuilding industry, and to ensure national security — maintaining a fleet of U.S.-flagged vessels crewed by trained American mariners who can deliver military cargo in times of conflict. During World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, and every major military deployment since, the Merchant Marine has been indispensable.
WHAT DID TRUMP DO?
⚠️ MARCH 2026: The Trump administration issued a sweeping Jones Act waiver allowing foreign-flagged vessels to transport oil, gasoline, diesel, LNG, fertilizer, and other covered cargoes between U.S. ports. The stated justification: supply flexibility amid disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis and elevated fuel prices.
⚠️ THE EXTENSION: The administration then extended the waiver an additional 90 days — keeping it in place through mid-August 2026. This is unprecedented in scope and duration. The Congressional Labor Caucus called it out directly.
⚠️ WHAT IT DOES NOT DO: Navigistics Consulting analysis: waiving the Jones Act reduces gasoline prices by $0.0027 per gallon — less than one third of a cent. Gasoline prices have remained elevated since the waiver took effect. The primary driver of gas prices is the global cost of crude oil, not domestic shipping costs. Multiple analyses confirm: the waiver does nothing measurable for consumers.
⚠️ WHAT IT DOES DO: It opens U.S. waterways to nonunion foreign competitors. It threatens investment in domestic shipbuilding. It undermines mariner recruitment and retention. It sends a signal to people considering maritime careers that their livelihoods can be set aside when convenient. It advances the interests of foreign shipping companies at the expense of American workers.
WHO IS OPPOSING IT?
✅ MEBA: Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association — Roland Rexha's union — has condemned the waiver and the extension, calling it a direct threat to American maritime workers.
✅ SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION: "The Jones Act is not simply an economic policy; it is a cornerstone of our national security, ensuring that America maintains a fleet of U.S.-flagged vessels crewed by highly trained American mariners who are ready to serve in both peace and war." Capital does not flow into uncertainty.
✅ AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS: CEO Jennifer Carpenter: "This Jones Act waiver extension throws open America's maritime borders to foreign vessels and crews and puts American workers last. It is a gut punch to American workers and should be terminated immediately."
✅ AFL-CIO: President Liz Shuler: "As American maritime workers risk their lives in the Middle East and around the world, it is deeply concerning that the Trump administration would open U.S. waterways to nonunion foreign competitors. This unnecessary and ineffective waiver is a giveaway to foreign shipping interests, dressed up as relief for America's families at the pump."
✅ CONGRESSIONAL LABOR CAUCUS: Co-Chairs Norcross, Pocan, Horsford, and Dingell: "We stand with American mariners who protect our nation's industrial and shipping capacity. Their mission is both an economic and national security imperative."
✅ TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE: Called the 90-day extension "unprecedented" and said it has done nothing to lower oil prices while advancing the interests of foreign carriers over American operators.
THE NATIONAL SECURITY DIMENSION
⚠️ THE MILITARY CONNECTION: American Merchant Marine officers are the fourth arm of national defense. In times of war and military deployment, U.S.-flagged vessels crewed by American mariners deliver critical defense cargo. Without a viable domestic maritime industry — ships, shipyards, trained officers — the United States cannot sustain military operations abroad. This is not theory. It is documented military history.
⚠️ THE FLEET ATTRITION RISK: When investors lack confidence in the Jones Act's protection, they stop investing in U.S.-flagged vessels and domestic shipbuilding. When mariners see their livelihoods undercut by foreign competition, they leave the industry. The cumulative effect is a smaller, less capable American fleet — which is a direct national security vulnerability.
⚠️ THE CONTRADICTION: The Trump administration's own Maritime Action Plan calls for restoring American maritime dominance. The Jones Act waiver directly contradicts that stated goal. You cannot build American maritime dominance while simultaneously opening U.S. waterways to foreign-flag competition.
