Union workers and elected leaders have called for more investment in commercial shipbuilding in the United States at a press conference at Mare Island Dry Dock in Vallejo.
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield, called for the passage of a legislative package he introduced in the House of Representatives titled the Ships for America Act that aims to revitalize an industry that once flourished in Vallejo, but has sagged over the years.
Another theme of the revitalization effort was to fight back against what the congressman and union leaders called unfair competition from China for its attempt to achieve “strategic dominance” in the shipping sector through unfair trade practices.
Mare Island Dry Dock provides ship repair and shipbuilding services for commercial and government vessels. It has two dry docks, which are spaces that a ship can be parked in and have water drained from, allowing work to be done. Mare Island also has berthing facilities and crane services.
The legislative push comes at a time when the Trump administration is separately proposing an increase in shipbuilding in the country by creating a White House office of shipbuilding that would coordinate and create efforts to jumpstart the sector.
One of the main goals of Garamendi’s legislation would be to close the enormous gap between the number of ships used in global commerce that are U.S.-flagged compared to Chinese-flagged.
Currently, only 80 ships are used to ship goods around the world with American flags, meaning they are registered in the United States. There are about 5,500 that sail with Chinese flags, according to Garamendi’s office.
The Ships for America Act would package five bills together to create a comprehensive approach to revitalizing the industry, including funding the position in the White House’s proposed new office, giving tax credits and other financial incentives to companies that invest in shipbuilding, and steering more cargo onto U.S. flagged ships, especially cargo originating from the U.S.
The legislation would also require a certain percentage of cargo originating from China to be moved aboard U.S. ships by 2029. It would invest in facilities and the workforce by creating a U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation that would have regional hubs and create a recruitment campaign to attract new workers to the sector.
Garamendi appeared at Mare Island Dry Dock with Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce, representatives from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, known as IAM, and Mare Island Dry Dock CEO Stephen DiLeo.
IAM was one of five unions that filed a complaint in 2024 with the U.S. Trade Representative against unfair Chinese trade practices, the official who is empowered by the Trade Act of 1974 to investigate foreign competition that gains an unfair advantage over domestic industries.
The complaint resulted in a finding that China was unfairly subsidizing its industry, displacing international competition and restricting market-based companies from competing, among other violations of U.S. trade law.
‘We’re falling way behind’
IAM general vice president of the eastern territory David Sullivan said at the press conference Friday that Mare Island Dry Dock once employed as many as 10,000 civilian workers, who built and repaired commercial ships and vessels for the U.S. Navy. That number has dwindled to about 200 employees.
“We must revive our maritime industry, and we must do so now,” Sullivan said, calling the issue a national security matter.
Garamendi sounded that alarm as well.
“We’re falling way behind. This is not only an economic issue for the United States, this is a fundamental national security issue,” he said.
“The reality is, we cannot sustain a fight in the Pacific because we do not have the merchant vessels to sustain our military today, and certainly in the future,” Garamendi said.
Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce said revitalizing the industry could be a boon to the local economy.
“Not only would you have good, living wage union jobs in our community for people in this area that are currently going out of county for work, but you would also have then those people here getting services and spending money in our community,” Sorce said.
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