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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A significant labor dispute at one of the largest shipbuilders for the U.S. Navy concluded Saturday as hundreds of workers returned to their posts at Bath Iron Works after approving a new agreement.
The Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association, after an extensive union meeting at a local high school, ratified a fresh four-year contract, effective immediately, according to the shipyard. This brought an end to the strike that had persisted for a week.
Associated with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), one of the nation’s most prominent unions, the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association includes professionals such as designers, nondestructive test technicians, technical clerks, laboratory technicians, and associate engineers, as stated by the union.
Famed for the slogan “Bath built is best built,” Bath Iron Works faced the strike shortly after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s morale-boosting visit, where he emphasized the importance of ramping up defense production amid ongoing military efforts in Iran.
As a key shipbuilder for the Navy, Bath Iron Works secured a multiyear deal in 2023 to construct several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. These guided missile destroyers are considered vital to the Navy’s surface fleet, with an additional vessel recently added to the contract under an option exercised last year.