The largest union of shipbuilders at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works [GD] voted to approve the newest three-year union contract, ensuring another strike does not delay ship deliveries.
On Aug. 20, the Machinists Union Local S6, announced 72 percent of its membership voted in favor of the contract negotiated with the company. The union represents over 4,000 workers.
The new contract will boost pay for some members up to nine percent in the first year while all classifications will get increases of a further five percent in year two and four percent in year three.
Workers will also get increased time off, higher tuition reimbursement rates but also higher health insurance premiums.
Union statements from July and August did not reveal any strong tension in negotiations with the company. An August 2 union update noted “Today we reached the part of the bargaining process where we needed to change gears. There are a number of ongoing discussions between the two parties. The amount of back and forth is increasing, but talks remain professional as we start getting into the more impactful articles.”
This was the first agreement between Bath Iron Works and Local S6 since they resolved a two month-long strike that delayed ship delivery to the Navy in 2020. That agreement ultimately used federal mediators (Defense Daily, Aug. 10, 2020).
That strike caused the company to fall further behind schedule on delivering ships after already being over six months behind schedule on projects.
GD’s Bath shipyard primarily builds Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers along with HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding [HII] in Pascagoula, Miss. GD also built the three Zumwalt-class destroyers that are set to receive new hypersonic missiles, replacing the unused Advanced Gun System.