BATH, Maine — A week after announcing a tentative agreement had been reached for a new three-year contract, the largest union at Bath Iron Works on Friday said it had reached an agreement with the company on how the 4,300 members of Local S6 of the Machinists Union will return to work should the proposed contract pass next weekend.
Members are scheduled to vote on whether to ratify the contract from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23. As with the previous contract proposal, which was rejected, they will vote online due to COVID-19 precautions.
According to the agreement, if the contract is approved, employees will be assigned to return to work beginning August 24, the Monday after the votes are tabulated, or for third-shift employees, late Sunday night.
Employees can instead elect to return Monday, Aug. 31, or Tuesday, Sept. 8, but must notify the company by Aug. 24 if they choose to do so or be subject to discipline, according to the agreement.
Benefits, including health insurance, will begin on the date an employee returns to work.
According to Local S6, Bath Iron Works agreed to credit employees 40 of the 80 hours they must work to accrue vacation time for the month of August. They must use accrued time for the remainder of the hours.
Union leaders said this week they expect members to approve the proposed contract, which they characterized as a win for Local S6.
Members will continue to picket outside BIW facilities until the vote begins on Aug. 21. They've been on strike since June 22, following a difficult negotiation process and then a vote to reject what BIW said was the company's "Last, Best and Final" offer.
After a week of mediation led by the deputy director of the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service, the L6 negotiating committee unanimously endorsed a new contract proposal that included a three-percent raise each of the contract's three years, as well as agreements on language regarding subcontractors and seniority -- the two primary issues for the union -- that L6 leaders deemed fair.
