2020 Bath shipbuilders' strike

Last updated

2020 Bath shipbuilders strike
DateJune 22 – August 23, 2020
(2 months and 1 day)
Location
Bath, Maine, United States
Caused by
  • Labor contract disputes
Methods
Resulted in
  • Union agrees to a 3-year labor contract
Parties

The 2020 Bath shipbuilders strike was a labor strike involving shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, United States. The strike, which started June 22, involved 4,300 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The strike ended on August 23 with the approval of a new labor contract.

Contents

Background

The shipyard of Bath Iron Works, c. 2000 Biw aerial.jpg
The shipyard of Bath Iron Works, c. 2000

Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major shipyard and among the largest shipbuilders for the United States Navy. [1] The shipyard, located in Bath, Maine, is a major employer for the region, with approximately 6,800 workers, of whom approximately 4,300 are members of Local S6 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). [1] [2]

In 2020, labor contract discussions between the union and company stalled as neither side could come to an agreement on the terms of the contract. The three-year contract proposed by the company would have included a 3% pay raise each year, but according to the union, there were over a dozen concessions that they took issue with. [3] Primarily, union members took issue with changes in seniority and policy regarding the hiring of subcontractors. [4] Previous efforts by the company to bring temporary workers to the shipyard were blocked by the union in 2015. [5] On June 21, union members held a vote to approve a strike beginning at midnight, with 87% of the votes being to approve the strike. [1] [6] [4] The strike is taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively affected operations at the shipyard, [2] with production behind schedule by six months. [4] The last time the union held a strike was in 2000, with the strike lasting 55 days. [4]

Course of the strike

Following the announcement of a strike on June 21, about a dozen union members left the union hall waving signs and cheering for the strike. [4] Shortly after the announcement of the strike, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) James Geurtz said, “my expectation is both sides will work aggressively and with a sense of urgency so we can get these programs [executed].” [5] U.S. Representative Jared Golden and Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden both expressed their support for the strikers. [7]

On June 22, about 1,000 strikers picketed in front of the shipyard, with plans for smaller groups of people to continue picketing in four-hour blocks. [8] Several shipyard workers from two other unions that were not on strike showed solidarity with the strikers by taking lunch breaks and vacation time. [8] To help alleviate financial difficulties caused by the strike, union members will receive $150 per week from a union fund. [8] Police reported 30 overnight noise complaints stemming from supporters honking their car horns to show support for the strike. [9]

In early July, BIW announced that they would be hiring additional subcontractors to avoid falling further behind schedule with their projects. [10] On July 7, the company began to temporarily lay off workers from non-striking union Local S7, citing a lack of work caused by the strike. [11] That same week, union representatives from Local S6 began to meet with a Federal mediator, with company representatives expected to meet with the mediators the following week. [12] [13] On July 21, Local S6 President Chris Wiers criticized the company for hiring out-of-state contractors from several Southern states that were experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases, such as Alabama and Mississippi. He alleged that this could lead to higher cases of infection in Bath and argued that BIW should "provide proof of testing with negative results for all out of state subcontractors immediately.” [14] On July 25, President Robert Martinez Jr. of the IAM spoke to strikers outside the union hall, calling for strikers to remain strong and calling the strike "the largest strike in the United States of America right now.” [15] On August 3, union and company representatives held their first meeting since June, where they agreed to points relating to company holidays and merit pay. [16] On August 8, it was announced that the union and company had reached a tentative agreement to end the strike, with union members slated to vote on the agreement between August 21 and August 23. [17] The 3-year labor contract was officially approved by union members on August 23, officially ending the strike, with union members returning to work the following day. [18] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bath, Maine</span> City in Maine, United States

Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick micropolitan. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its 19th-century architecture. It is home to the Bath Iron Works and Heritage Days Festival, held annually on the Fourth of July weekend. It is commonly known as "The City of Ships" because of all the sailing ships that were built in the Bath shipyards. Bath is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bath Iron Works</span> American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine

Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest defense companies. BIW has built private, commercial, and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipyard</span> Place where ships are built and repaired

A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved with original construction, dockyards are sometimes more linked with maintenance and basing activities. The terms are routinely used interchangeably, in part because the evolution of dockyards and shipyards has often caused them to change or merge roles.

Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, when that side of the business was separated and became part of the Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage & Wagon Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers</span> North American trade union

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (United States)</span> Independent agency of the US government

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), founded in 1947, is an independent agency of the United States government, and the nation's largest public agency for dispute resolution and conflict management, providing mediation services and related conflict prevention and resolution services in the private, public, and federal sectors. FMCS is tasked with mediating labor disputes around the country; it provides training and relationship development programs for management and unions as part of its role in promoting labor-management peace and cooperation. The Agency also provides mediation, conflict prevention, and conflict management services outside the labor context for federal agencies and the programs they operate. The FMCS headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., with other offices across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Railroad Strike of 1922</span> 1922 nationwide railroad workers strike in the US

The Great Railroad Strike of 1922, or the Railway Shopmen's Strike, was a nationwide strike of railroad workers in the United States. Launched on July 1, 1922 by seven of the sixteen extant railroad labor organizations, the strike continued into August before collapsing. A sweeping judicial injunction by Judge James Herbert Wilkerson effectively ended the strike on September 1, 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Steel and Shipbuilding Company</span>

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with four shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Bremerton, and Mayport. It is a division of General Dynamics. NASSCO owns a subsidiary manufacturing facility with TIMSA in Mexicali, Mexico. The San Diego shipyard specializes in constructing commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the US Navy and Military Sealift Command; it is the only new-construction shipyard on the West Coast of the United States. NASSCO performs ship repairs and conversions for the United States Navy in all four shipyard locations: San Diego, Norfolk, Bremerton, and Mayport.

BIW may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company</span> 1917–1948 shipbuilding company in the United States

The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard in New Jersey active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. Unlike many shipyards, it remained active during the shipbuilding slump of the 1920s and early 1930s that followed the World War I boom years. During World War II, it built merchant ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding program, at the same time producing more destroyers for the United States Navy than any yard other than the Bath Iron Works. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at Kearny Point where the mouth of the Hackensack River meets Newark Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer L. Ferguson</span> American author and businessman

Homer Lenoir Ferguson was an author and businessman. He was president of Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, from July 22, 1915, through July 31, 1946.

USS <i>Spruance</i> (DDG-111)

USS Spruance (DDG-111) is a United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. She is the 61st ship in her class. Spruance is the second ship to be named for Admiral Raymond A. Spruance (1886–1969), who commanded American naval forces at the Battles of Midway and the Philippine Sea. He was later Ambassador to the Philippines. Her keel was laid down on 14 May 2009. She was christened by the admiral's granddaughter, Ellen Spruance Holscher, on 5 June 2010 in Bath, Maine at Bath Iron Works, where the ship was built at a cost of $1 billion. The completed ship left Bath on 1 September 2011 for her commissioning in Key West, Florida on 1 October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas W. Hyde</span> American politician

Thomas Worcester Hyde was an American Union Army colonel, a state senator from Maine, and the founder of the Bath Iron Works, one of the major shipyards in the United States. He wrote two books about his experiences during the American Civil War and at the Battle of Gettysburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maine Maritime Museum</span> Maritime museum in Bath, Maine

Maine Maritime Museum, formerly the Bath Marine Museum, offers some exhibits about Maine's maritime heritage, culture and the role Maine has played in regional and global maritime activities. Maine Maritime Museum has a large and diverse collection, made up of millions of documents, artifacts and pieces of artwork and includes an extensive research library.

USS <i>Thomas Hudner</i> Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The $663 million contract to build her was awarded on 28 February 2012, to Bath Iron Works, of Bath, Maine. On 7 May 2012, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the ship name would be named Thomas Hudner in honor of U.S. naval aviator Thomas Hudner, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, in the Korean War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States Senate election in Maine</span>

The 2014 United States Senate election in Maine took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had served in the position since 1997, won reelection to a fourth term in office with 68% of the vote. The primary elections were held on June 10, 2014. As of 2024, this was the last time the Republican candidate won the counties of Cumberland and Knox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Mansion</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The Hyde Mansion, originally known as Elmhurst, is a historic house at 616 High Street in Bath, Maine, United States. Now the main building on the Bath campus of The Hyde Schools, it was built in 1913 for John Sedgewick Hyde, the son of Bath Iron Works (BIW) founder Thomas W. Hyde. It was designed by John Calvin Stevens, and is an example of Colonial Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The 2021 St. Paul Park refinery strike was a labor dispute in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, United States. The strike, involving approximately 200 workers, took place at an oil refinery owned by Marathon Petroleum and began on January 21, 2021, with members of Local 120 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters alleging unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions. According to union representatives, the strike was originally intended to last for one day, but that the company performed a lockout on the workers. While the company denies that the dispute is a lockout, multiple sources, including the Star Tribune and the news agency Reuters, describe the dispute as a lockout.

The 2021 Allegheny Technologies strike was a labor strike involving about 1,300 workers for metals manufacturing company Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI), all unionized with the United Steelworkers (USW). The strike began on March 30 and ended on July 13 with the ratification of a new labor contract. Strikers returned to work by July 19. According to the Northwest Labor Press, the strike was among the country's largest for 2021 by number of strikers involved.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bath Iron Works shipbuilders vote to strike". The Boston Globe . Associated Press. June 21, 2020. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Loren (June 19, 2020). "With Potential Strike Looming At Bath Iron Works, Fat Order Book Masks Long-Term Threats To Its Survival". Forbes . Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Production workers strike against Bath Iron Works, major Navy shipbuilder". Fox Business . Fox Corporation. Associated Press. June 23, 2020. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Brien, Kathleen; Overton, Penelope; Wolfe, Rob (June 22, 2020). "Bath Iron Works' largest union votes to strike". Portland Press Herald . MaineToday Media. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  5. 1 2 LaGrone, Sam (June 24, 2020). "Bath Iron Works on Striking Union: 'Ball is in Their Court'". United States Naval Institute . Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Production Workers Strike at Bath Iron Works in Maine". New England Cable News . June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  7. ↑ Mannino, Gabrielle (June 25, 2020). "Biden weighs in on BIW strike, urges company to 'make a fair offer'". WCSH . Tegna Inc. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Valigra, Lori (June 22, 2020). "BIW union official says 'it's their move' on first day of strike". Bangor Daily News . Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  9. ↑ Valigra, Lori (June 23, 2020). "Overnight noise complaints pile up at BIW picket line, but strike peaceful on Tuesday". Bangor Daily News . Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  10. ↑ Sharp, David (July 2, 2020). "Bath Iron Works hiring temporary workers amid strike". Bangor Daily News . Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Kathleen (July 7, 2020). "BIW to temporarily lay off workers during strike". Portland Press Herald . MaineToday Media. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Union meets with mediator as shipyard strike enters 3rd week". Times Union . Hearst Communications. Associated Press. July 6, 2020. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Union Meets With Mediator as Shipyard Strike Enters 3rd Week". U.S. News & World Report . Associated Press. July 6, 2020. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ Macias, Amanda (July 23, 2020). "Workers continue strike at key Navy shipbuilding yard amid missed deadlines and fight over contractors". CNBC . NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Machinists union president rallies striking shipyard workers". The Washington Times . Associated Press. July 25, 2020. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  16. ↑ O'Brien, Kathleen (August 4, 2020). "BIW, striking union make some progress in first meeting since June". Portland Press Herald . MaineToday Media. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  17. ↑ Sharp, David (August 8, 2020). "Navy Shipbuilder and Union Reach Tentative Agreement to End 6-Week Strike in Maine". Time . Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  18. ↑ Sharp, David (August 23, 2020). "Maine Shipbuilders Approve 3-Year Pact, Ending 63-Day Strike". Time . Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Shipbuilders Approve 3-Year Pact, Ending Monthslong Strike at Bath Iron Works". Military.com . Monster.com. The Canadian Press. August 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.