Shipyard, union are getting back on same page after strike
BATH, Maine โ Months after a bitter strike during a pandemic, Bath Iron Works managers and production workers are starting to get on the same page when it comes to catching up on the production schedule. Machinists Union Local S6 and shipyard managers have been meeting with help from a federal mediator since the two-month strike ended in August. Bath Iron Works is one of the Navyโs largest shipbuilders and is a major employer with 6,800 workers in Maine. Bath Iron Works will be competing against the Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi on that contract. The Bath-built Thomas Hudner in 2019 scored the highest in the program history, outperforming a destroyer from the Ingalls shipyard, according the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey.
Shipyard, union reach tentative deal to end strike in Maine
Striker's signs are gathered near Bath Iron Works, Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Bath, Maine. Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, builds guided-missile destroyers for the U.S. Navy. Bath Iron Works was already six months behind before the strike, partly because of the pandemic, officials said. Bath Iron Works lost that contract to another shipyard in 2016. The shipyard, a major employer in Maine with 6,800 workers, has been undergoing a transition as aging workers reach retirement.
Machinists union president rallies striking shipyard workers
A picketer stands in front of a union office near Bath Iron Works, Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Bath, Maine. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6 is in its fifth week of the strike over a new contract. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)BATH, Maine The international president of the Machinists union rallied striking workers at Bath Iron Works, urging them to stay strong Saturday and saying there's no way in hell the union will back down. Bath Iron Works is one of the Navys largest shipbuilders and a major employer in Maine, with 6,800 workers. The company needs to be able to hire subcontractors to get caught up, the shipyard's president contends.
Shipbuilder files complaint over union threats during strike
Strikers picket outside the district lodge of Local 6 across from Bath Iron Works, Monday, June 22, 2020, in Bath, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works on Friday filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing its largest union of threatening workers who cross the picket line during an ongoing strike in Maine. The company accused leaders of Machinists Local S6 of threatening so-called scabs with fines and loss of benefits and hinting at violence. We are extremely disappointed that union leaders would make false and threatening statements to the very employees they are supposed to represent, said BIW President Dirk Lesko. Wadleigh insisted that production workers who cross the picket line are no longer eligible for union benefits, and may face fines, as well.