BATH, Maine — Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and production workers reached a tentative agreement to end a strike that has stretched for more than a month during a global pandemic, the union announced Saturday.
The agreement, which was unanimously endorsed by union negotiators, will be put forth to the 4,300 members of Machinists Local S6 for approval. Because of the pandemic, voting will take place online and via telephone during a three-day period from Friday, Aug. 21, to Sunday, Aug. 23.
Production workers went on strike on June 22 after overwhelmingly rejecting the company’s final offer.
Union leaders said the process was not easy.
"This process was emotional, difficult, and frustrating for both parties. Being able to reach a tentative agreement to bring back to our membership that keeps our subcontracting language unchanged, continues to protect seniority, and attain a modest economic package is what we were able to do," according to the letter posted Saturday.
Bath Iron Works released a statement on their Facebook page Saturday afternoon.
BIW President Dirk Lesko said, “We worked hand-in-hand with the union negotiating committee to ensure that we addressed the concerns of our valued employees.”
“We are hopeful they will return to work soon so we can get on with our important mission of building ships for the U.S. Navy,” said Lesko.
“We appreciate the hard work of all who contributed to this effort, including both the BIW and LS6 negotiating committees as well as the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, who will continue to work with both parties to implement the agreement when it is ratified,” said Lesko.
According to union leaders, the parties were able to come to an agreement on the most contentious issues. The union pointed out;
Article 30 Subcontracting
- WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT CONTRACT LANGUAGE.
- An MOA was agreed to that allows for a temporary catchup phase though the end of the year, subcontracting will be phased out at the end of the year and we return to the prior language. As part of this agreement, Christmas shutdown will be a work week with code 14 options, OT will be offered to 25% of any classification with subcontractors in here, BIW will hire at a 2:1 ratio for any sub.
- NO LAYOFF CLAUSE for 2020.
- Hiring requisitions will go back to Grade 1-9.
- There is a commitment to form a joint Union/Company committee to help get Bath Iron Works back on schedule, secure our future, and meet weekly to collectively move forward.
Union official Jay Wadleigh told the Associated Press that the deal, "preserves our subcontracting process, protects seniority provisions and calls for a collaborative effort to get back on schedule,” Wadleigh said Saturday. The agreement was reached late Friday, he said.
The pandemic added to tensions at the shipyard. Some workers were angry when the shipyard rebuffed requests to shut down for two weeks. The shipyard was considered essential and continued production even though hundreds of workers stayed home.
Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, builds guided-missile destroyers for the U.S. Navy. The strike threatened to put the shipyard further behind schedule on delivery of the warships at a time of growing competition from China and Russia. Bath Iron Works was already six months behind before the strike, partly because of the pandemic, officials said.
Frustration had been building among workers since the last contract in which the Machinists accepted concessions that were deemed necessary to win a U.S. Coast Guard contract — and save shipbuilding jobs.
Bath Iron Works lost that contract to another shipyard in 2016. It also lost a lucrative competition for Navy frigates in late April.
Shipbuilders contend production workers shouldn’t shoulder the cost for problems they blame on mismanagement.
The shipyard, a major employer in Maine with 6,800 workers, has been undergoing a transition as aging workers reach retirement. The shipyard hired 1,800 workers last year and expects to hire 1,000 workers this year.