Tech Union Strike at Navy Shipbuilder

A few weeks ago, U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, made a morale-boosting appearance at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (Maine), expressing the need to boost defense manufacturing, of which the historical shipyard is a part of. So what did the union of designers, engineers, clerks, and technicians do? They went on strike.

Generally, I’m not a fan of unions. Why I am not is another blog for another time. However, this particular strike was brilliant on their part. We have an constitutionally undeclared war going on in Iran and the Defense Secretary pleads how we allegedly need to boost defense spending. There couldn’t be a more opportune time to go on strike. Your product is wanted, it’s wanted soon, and your company was just bragged up and put into the spotlight. It’s brilliant. The Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association is a lot smarter than most other unions, especially those who go on strike when demand for their products are becoming outdated.

The union accuses the shipyard of not addressing the members’ concerns about wages, insurance coverage and retirement income security. However, David Hench, a company spokesperson, stated the company’s proposal includes “historic annual wage increases” of 10.1% in the first year followed by 4% in each of the following three years. I’d be happy with that. That’s a 24% increase in four years. (The source article didn’t mention insurance or retirement plan offers.)

Union president, Trent Vellella, stated, “We had hoped the company took to heart the statements made by Secretary Hegseth here at GD BIW on February 9th because, our membership certainly did.” He also claimed the company “continues to make record profits off our labor.” Despite the brilliant timing of the strike, let me remind all union workers... if it weren’t for profits, the company wouldn’t exist, and workers wouldn’t have their existing job. As I always state, if you don’t like your job and/or your pay, you can always quit. Whether you quit or die, a new hire is just around the corner.

Business operations will continue during the strike through the use of salaried personnel, subcontractors, and employees who elect to come to work, according to the shipyard’s website. The total workforce is about 6,800 people, or about 10x the number of workers represented by the strike. There was no word on whether production would be slowed down; I suspect that would depend on whether any on-the-spot tech issues need to be addressed.

Bath Iron Works is a major shipbuilder for the Navy and was awarded a multiyear contract in 2023 to build several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers - a guided missile destroyer that Navy officials have described as the “backbone of the Navy’s surface fleet.” The Navy exercised an option last year to add an additional destroyer to the contract. As I stated, perfect timing.

Apparently negotiations started about a week before Hegseth made his appearance, which begs the question, “A greedy union taking advantage of timing… or a devious appearance (using naval importance) to increase the pay of a military industrial complex sector?”

Source used: Associated Press