Top Navy Official ‘Very Concerned’ About Strike at Maine Shipyard – By Marcus Weisgerber (Defense One) / June 22 2020
About two-thirds of Bath Iron Works’ workers walked off the job on Sunday.
The U.S. Navy’s top weapons buyer is “very concerned” that more 4,300 union workers at Bath Iron Works walked off the job Sunday, marking the first strike in two decades at the Maine shipyard.
“Obviously, we’re very concerned with the dispute right now up at [Bath Iron Works],” James “Hondo” Geurts, assistant Navy secretary for research, development, and acquisition, said on a Monday conference call with reporters.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6 voted to strike Sunday after the union rejected three-year contract offer from shipyard owner General Dynamics.
“The Navy’s expectations are that the leaders of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers work very diligently and with a sense of urgency to come to an agreement so that we can get out ship construction — keep it on track,” Geurts said.
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