Geurts 'concerned' over BIW strike

BATH, Maine - Members of Local S6 of the Machinists Union at Bath Iron Works (BIW) voted to go on strike at midnight June 21. It’s the first strike in 20 years, and it’s over proposals involving the hiring of subcontractors and changes to seniority. It also comes at a time when shipyard production has fallen six months behind schedule. Local S6, which represents 4,300 of the company’s 6,700 employees, approved the strike and rejected a three-year proposed contract. Of those members who cast ballots, 87 percent voted to strike. The exact numbers voting to reject the proposal was not made available. The strike would stop work on six new Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and the last of three Zumwalt destroyers. “It was the only logical way to vote,” said Ryan Ryder, a pipefitter for the past nine years. He’s willing to strike for “as long as it takes for us to receive a fair contract for the men and women who make great ships for the Navy.” Local S6’s strike in 2000 lasted 55 days. BIW officials said they were “disappointed by this result, but are prepared should a strike occur.” After the vote, Lexington Institute analyst Loren Thompson said BIW is under pressure to stay competitive with its main rival, Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. Ingalls has several advantages: It is a much bigger yard located in a year-round boat-building climate in a pro-management political climate where the cost of doing business is cheaper. And it’s closer to existing naval bases, he continued. The union is operating under the assumption that BIW’s future with the Navy is assured, but Thompson worries that it is not. He said the Navy is already facing a major budget crunch, and is facing some tough decisions. (Source: Press Herald 06/21/20) https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/21/bath-iron-works-largest-union-votes-to-strike/ UPDATE: Assistant Secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition, James Geurts, told reporters June 22 that he is "very concerned” that more 4,300 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6 union workers (at BIW) walked off the job after voting to strike. “The Navy’s expectations are that the leaders of General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers work very diligently, and with a sense of urgency, to come to an agreement so that we can get out ship construction - keep it on track,” Geurts said. (Source: Defense One 06/22/20)