The Seaway Channel Talks with Mary Peters, U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Last Friday, The Seaway Channel had the opportunity to talk with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, Deputy Secretary VADM Thomas J. Barrett, St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) Administrator Collister “Terry” Johnson, Jr. and other member of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) senior management team. The interview session was the first of its kind, designed for “new media” organizations with online publications.

Secretary Peters’ remarks emphasized the efforts that DOT is making to find transportation solutions which improve safety, efficiency and the environment at the same time. While deferring any direct questions about the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System to Johnson, she spoke highly of Johnson’s work on Seaway infrastructure investment and ballast water treatment issues.

The Department of Transportation’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year reflects the biggest percentage increase of any agency within DOT and Secretary Peters has been a strong advocate for that budget request both within the Administration and on Capitol Hill. Additionally, DOT officials had praise for the new ballast water regulatory regime being put in place by the SLSDC and their Canadian counterparts at the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. The new ballast water program should help dramatically limit the introduction of new invasive species into the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Johnson, who had just returned from an event in Montreal designed to highlight the new ballast water regulatory regime expressed his strong feelings that the two Seaway agencies have taken an important step in the process of halting the introduction of new invasive species in ballast water. “The two governments are working together to do something about this issue. The industry understands the importance of this issue and is willing to work with us. This combined effort is going to produce results in terms of protecting the Great Lakes ecosystem without damaging the Great Lakes economy.”

This Week's Poll Question

Thanks to all of you who participated in last week's poll where a full 92% of you felt that the new ballast water regulations would prove effective.  (Specifially 60% of you thought the regulations would be very effective whilst 32% thought the regulations would be somewhat effective).

Now that the two major American political parties are seemingly settled on their nominees...

Five Questions for John D. Baker Jr., Acting President, Great Lakes District Council, International Longshoremen’s Association

1) What is your opinion of the state of labor-management relations in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System? What things could be done to improve the labor-management environment?

Labor-management relations in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System can improve through better and more frequent communications. As things stand now, we really only get together for meaningful discussions when we are in contract negotiations. I firmly believe that we need to get together more often to air out our differences. One way to start that process would be to have quarterly meetings in different ports throughout the Lakes where we can talk through issues of substance and get those issues addressed before they become problems.

2) You’ve been working in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry for your entire professional life. What have you enjoyed most about this industry and what do you see in terms of its future?

Speaking from my perspective as someone who represents organized labor, I really enjoy working with the people who actually do the work in our industry. They are hard-working people who have families that they are trying to feed, educate and provide for. As for the future, I think that short-sea shipping is an idea whose time may have finally come. As more people understand the benefits of moving goods by water and it becomes more difficult and expensive to move things overland, the maritime industry will be there to move the cargoes that will fuel the American economy for generations to come.

3) Your father is a very influential figure in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry and also within the ILA internationally? What are some of the special challenges of being the son of such an influential figure in an industry where you now hold a leadership position?

My family is very close and I’m lucky to have the opportunity to work with my dad, my brother, my uncle and other members of the Baker family. I’m proud of my Dad and my family and hope to make them proud of what I do as well. My dad has always told me not to worry about trying to fill anyone else’s shoes but to do the best I know how. So that’s what I try to do. When you work for the benefit of other families whose livelihoods partly depend on how well you do your job, you have a big responsibilty to your members. Doing a good job for our members has been my Dad’s focus and is it is for me too.

4) What are the biggest challenges facing the ILA nationally and here in the Great Lakes?

The ILA is facing the challenge of how we deal with new technologies in our workplace. We aren’t against technology as some people would have you believe. We’re for using technology to make our work better, safer and more productive but we have to have the training and experience to help our employers make there operations more efficient. We understand that if they don’t make money, we don’t make money. They just have to understand that if they don’t do their part to get us work, they can’t make money either.

In the near term, I should also mention that the master contract is coming up for renewal with our International and the Great Lakes District contract will be up for renewal in 2010. I’d like to see that improvement in communications I talked about take place so everyone can go into those negotiations without being blind-sided.

5) What are some of the things you would like to accomplish during your term as Acting President of the Great Lakes District Council ?

As I say, first I want to improve communications and have these quarterly meetings that I’ve talked about. I’d also like to see short-sea shipping become a reality in the Lakes. I think the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system is the perfect proving ground for this sort of thing and I’d like to see us become the model for short-sea shipping in North America. Maybe then we can take our rightful place as America’s Forth Seacoast.

U.S. Transportation Officials to be Interviewed by The Seaway Channel

In an unprecedented move The Seaway Channel has been granted rare access to interview a number of senior U.S. Department of Transportation officials tomorrow as part of an outreach effort to publishers of online news journals. Online journals such as The Seaway Channel have exploded in popularity in recent years as long-sheet and tabliod daily news publishers have fallen on hard times. Increasingly, public officials and other newsmakers have reached out to the online publishing community to get their message out and the U.S. Department of Transportation is making great strides under Secretary Mary Peters to do just that.

The Seaway Channel has interviewed a number of high-ranking industry and governemnt officials but Secretary Peters is the first cabinet-level official in the U.S. government to make herself available to us.  We hope tomorrow's information sessions will make interesting reading for our most important constituency, you, our readers.  

Senate Confirms Speck to Join International Joint Commission

Mr. Sam Speck of Ohio has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as one of the three U.S. members of the International Joint Commission (IJC). Under the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, the IJC prevents and resolves disputes between the United States and Canada over the waters they share and pursues the common good of both countries as an independent and objective advisor to the two governments. Among other matters, the IJC is currently studying whether and how water levels on the Great Lakes might be more effectively managed.

Previously, Mr. Speck had served for eight years as Ohio's Director of Natural Resources. Prior to that, he had been President of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio for over a decade. He also served as an associate director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Ronald Reagan and as a member of the Ohio House and Senate for 13 years while on the Muskingum College faculty.

While in office as Ohio's Director of Natural Resources, Mr. Speck served as a member and chair of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission and Great Lakes Commission. He also served as chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors and Premiers’ Water Management Working Group, which developed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and Agreement. In July 2004, he was one of three state officials in the United States to receive the National Governors Association's Annual Award for Distinguished Service in State Government. Mr. Speck grew up on a farm in northeastern Ohio, graduated of Muskingum College and earned masters and doctoral degrees in government from Harvard University.

Mr. Speck’s confirmation along with the appointment of Pierre Trépanier to the Canadian Section in April gives the IJC a full compliment of six Commissioners.