BIW's largest union out on strike after rejecting proposed contract - Press Herald

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BIW workers demonstrate outside the Local S6 union hall Monday morning. Kathleen O’Brien

More than 100 members of Bath Iron Works’ largest union picketed outside the shipyard this morning.

The strike comes after Local S6 of the Machinists Union, which represents 4,300 of the company’s 6,700 employees rejected a three-year contract over the weekend.

At issue are proposals involving the hiring of subcontractors and changes to seniority at a time when shipyard production has fallen six months behind schedule.

Of union members who cast ballots, an overwhelming 87 percent voted to strike, according to the Local S6 Facebook page. Voting, held online and over phones throughout the weekend, wrapped up at noon Sunday. Exact numbers on how many union members voted to reject the proposed contract weren’t made available.

This is the first strike since 2000, which lasted 55 days.

In a statement issued after results were announced, BIW officials said they were “disappointed by this result, but are prepared should a strike occur.”

David Hench, a BIW spokesman, declined to comment further on Sunday.

Production of BIW’s Arleigh Burke-class of guided-missile warships is already running six months behind, even without a strike.

“It makes sense for the union to get the best contract it can,” industry analyst Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said in an interview Sunday evening. “But the reality is BIW needs to stay competitive to win future Navy contracts. If costs run too high, the Navy will buy their ships elsewhere.”

Both analysts and union members considered how a strike would impact BIW’s future standing within the shipbuilding industry.

Chris Weirs, Local S6 president, said Sunday that voting members were simply standing up for good jobs for the Maine economy.

“We are proud to build the best ships in the world and we want to keep it that way,” Weirs said in a statement. “We are fighting for good jobs for the Maine economy. We want jobs at the shipyard to be high quality jobs that members can earn a decent living in over a long career.”

BIW, a subsidiary of global aerospace and defense company General Dynamics, pitched a three-year contract including annual 3 percent pay increases, maintaining current premiums on benefits including 401(k) and life insurance, but increasing health plan co-pays.

The union repeatedly threatened to strike over disputes about seniority privileges and whether the company should hire subcontractors, a demand BIW made during negotiations for its existing contract five years ago. The union yielded to that request because it could allow the shipyard to remain flexible while competing for shipbuilding contracts.

In 2015, BIW was focused on winning a $10.5 billion contract to build Coast Guard cutters. The shipyard warned that losing out on the contract could lead to the elimination of 1,000 jobs. BIW ultimately lost the cutter contract.

In the week after BIW presented its offer for a new contract, negotiations hit an impasse. Prior to the polls opening over the weekend, both union and company leaders said they were willing to continue contract negotiations, but neither party approached the other to make that happen. Both sides issued statements saying they’d be willing to continue contract talks to stave off a strike, but that apparently didn’t happen.

On Monday, cars passing on Washington Street, where BIW’s main facility is located, honked in solidarity as workers rang bells and banged on metal. Most workers were gathered at the Local S6 union hall, across the street from the shipyard.

While raucous, this morning’s demonstrations have been peaceful. Police were stationed up and down Washington Street.

Cynthia Phinney, president of Maine AFL-CIO, a state federation of labor unions, said Sunday that Local S6’s overwhelming vote to strike “should send a crystal clear message to BIW management: Respect your workers, go back to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract.”

“The union has struggled and bargained over decades to make these safe, quality jobs that Maine workers can survive in over a long career and earn a decent living,” Phinney said. “BIW proposals roll back job quality, worker protections and safety. … All over this state and country the essential people are rising up to demand respect, justice and a fair share of the wealth we create. The broader labor movement stands with the workers at BIW in their struggle for a fair contract.”

This story will be updated.

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