00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 12 01 Relating to the preservation of employment opportunities for United States 02 longshoremen with respect to unloading and loading of foreign vessels. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS Alaska longshoremen have historically been employed in the loading and 05 unloading of foreign vessels in Alaska, including in the port of Dutch Harbor; and 06 WHEREAS the United States Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes a 07 reciprocity list consisting of countries where the performance of longshore activities by 08 crewmembers aboard United States vessels is prohibited; a ship flying the flag of a country on 09 the reciprocity list is prohibited from using its own crew members to perform longshore 10 activities in this country; and 11 WHEREAS the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes a list of exceptions to the 12 reciprocity list; a foreign vessel flying the flag of a country on the list of exceptions may use 13 the vessel's own crew members to load and unload the vessel in United States waters; the 14 federal Act also contains an Alaska exception permitting alien crewmen to work in Alaska 15 ports if an adequate number of Alaska workers are not available to perform the work; and 16 WHEREAS the United States Department of State apparently maintains that countries 01 for which sufficient information is not available to determine the country's appropriate status 02 will be left off the reciprocity list even though exceptions from the reciprocity list were 03 intended to be limited, and a questionnaire from the United States Department of State 04 suggests that the department intends to leave off the reciprocity list those countries with 05 restrictive laws, regulations, or practices where no United States ships have called since 06 January 1, 1996, contrary to the express terms of the Act; and 07 WHEREAS several foreign vessels change their flag of registry from that of a country 08 on the reciprocity list to a country on the list of exceptions just before arriving in United 09 States waters, displacing work opportunities for Alaska longshoremen; and 10 WHEREAS this obvious abrogation of the intent of the reciprocity exception to the 11 United States Immigration and Nationality Act is injurious to the working people and the 12 economy of the State of Alaska; and 13 WHEREAS much of the Bering Sea pollock harvest is now being loaded on vessels 14 operating under a reciprocity exception through agreements between the vessel owners and 15 certain American seafood processors at the expense of Alaska labor; 16 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that Congress should enact 17 legislation to exempt Alaska from the reciprocity exception, since the Act's current "Alaska 18 exception" adequately allows for the continuation of commerce in Alaska ports; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of State should refine its 20 regulations to make the process of collecting information about countries easier for the 21 department and more advantageous for American workers; in particular, the department 22 should establish a list of countries that have demonstrated that they are eligible for reciprocity, 23 rather than assuming eligibility unless it is established that the country is ineligible for 24 reciprocity; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of State should reverse 26 the burden of proof for the eligibility list to require countries to demonstrate their right to 27 reciprocal treatment by providing a copy of the law, regulation, or practice that allows United 28 States seamen to perform longshore work in that country to the United States Department of 29 State; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of State should only 31 grant reciprocity to countries in which United States seamen have recently performed 01 longshore work; and be it 02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of State should deny 03 reciprocity for a vessel that has been chartered from a third party; this will discourage 04 American companies from the practice of "shopping" for vessels from other countries simply 05 to avoid the requirement that they use United States labor. 06 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Colin Powell, United States 07 Secretary of State; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, 08 U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 09 delegation in Congress.