Hundreds go on strike at major Navy shipbuilder in Maine over wages and benefits
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Hundreds of designers, clerks and technicians went on strike Monday in Maine at one of the U.S. Navy’s largest shipbuilding contractors.
The Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association went on strike at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works after members voted over the weekend to reject the shipyard’s proposed wage offer. The union represents 627 workers at the historic dockyard in Bath, which has been building naval ships for more than a century.
The strike comes just weeks after a morale-boosting appearance by the US Secretary of Defense. Pete Hegseth He cited the need to increase defense production. This also happens at a time when the United States is intensifying its attacks. War effort in Iran.
The union said in a statement that the shipyard’s offer did not address members’ concerns about wages, insurance coverage and retirement income security.
Union President Trent Vellella said in an emailed statement that General Dynamics “continues to make record profits on our labor,” adding, “We had hoped that the company had taken into account Secretary Hegseth’s comments at GD BIW on February 9, because our membership certainly did.”
Bath Iron Works spokesman David Hench said the shipyard bargained with the union for three weeks and was unable to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. Hench said the company’s offer includes “historic annual wage increases” of 10.1 percent in the first year, then 4 percent in each of the next three years.
The shipyard’s website said the company plans to continue business operations during the strike through salaried staff, subcontractors and other employees who choose to come to work. Hench said the shipyard’s total workforce is about 6,800 people.
“The company continues to engage in good faith negotiations with BMDA to explore opportunities to better align company and union goals,” Hench said in an emailed statement.
The Bath Marine Painters Association is affiliated with the United Automobile, Aviation and Agricultural Workers of America, commonly known as the UAW, one of the nation’s largest unions. In the statement made by the union, it was stated that BMDA members at Bath Iron Works worked as designers, non-destructive testing technicians, technical officers, laboratory technicians and assistant engineers.
Members gathered in front of the shipyard in cold and rainy weather on Monday. Workers said they would continue a 24-hour strike until a new contract was approved.
Bath Iron Works is a major shipbuilder for the Navy and has been awarded a multi-year contract to build several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in 2023. Arleigh Burke is a guided missile destroyer that Navy officials describe as “the backbone of the Navy’s surface fleet.” The Navy exercised its option to add an additional destroyer to the contract last year.
The Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Harvey C. Barnum, Jr., a member of the Arleigh Burke class, last year and is scheduled to be commissioned next month, Hench said.
Shipyard representatives did not immediately respond to a question about whether the strike would slow production.
