News & Policies

2024

U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI)

“The Great Lakes are not only an important natural resource but a way of life that supports communities across our region and country, creating more than 1.5 million jobs, supplying 90 percent of our nation’s fresh surface water, and generating $62 billion in wages every year. They are critical to numerous industries, supply chains, and our economy, and support countless families’ livelihoods. As a co-chair of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, I’m honored to be recognized by the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force and will continue to fight in Congress to protect these waters and all who depend on them,” stated Representative Dingell.

“It is an honor and privilege to present this award to Representative Dingell.  She strengthened navigational infrastructure by supporting funding to finish the critical new large navigational lock in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan and pressing for the acquisition of a desperately needed U.S. Coast Guard heavy icebreaker for the Great Lakes,” stated Jim Weakley President of the Lake Carriers’ Association and Vice President of GLMTF.

In addition, Representative Dingell understands the need to attract and retain a skilled workforce like those needed at the Soo Locks.  As the only waterway connection between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Soo Locks are the linchpin of the Great Lakes Navigation System. In 2022, the Department of Defense reduced the wage rate for 77 skilled laborer positions at the Soo Locks Complex by 19 percent. Two-thirds of the workers occupying those positions are veterans. She has been a catalyst for a solution proposing that the Department of Defense approve the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers May 2022 request for a special salary rate (SSR) to restore the wage scale lost in 2022 for these 77 positions.

“Representative Dingell is a true champion for the Great Lakes and the hard-working men and women which keep the pilot light of the North American economy lit,” stated John Clemons National Vice President of the Great Lakes American Maritime Officers Union. Representative Dingell has been a strong supporter of the “Jones Act” which insures the more than 147,000 U.S. jobs tied to the Great Lakes maritime industry remain in America.