Bath Iron Works and its largest union returned to the bargaining table on Wednesday for the first time since the summer of 2020.
Ninety nine percent of the Machinists Union Local S6 members who voted recently approved striking as a bargaining chip, in case contract negotiations stall, according to The Times Record. The union has more than 4,250 members.
The last time the two parties met, Local S6 members reached an impasse with BIW representatives, disagreeing on pay rates, the use of subcontractors and rules surrounding seniority. The Local S6’s members overwhelmingly voted to go on strike, which lasted nine weeks before a new contract was reached.
The union’s current contract expires Aug. 20. It has declined to specify what it’s looking for in a new one, according to The Times Record.
“We have no power to have our demands met without the ability to strike. We need to show the company that we are ready to strike if it becomes necessary,” the union said in a statement to the newspaper.
“This is an important milestone that we have to come through together,” BIW spokesperson David Hench told the Brunswick newspaper. “We are looking forward to a productive and positive bargaining process so we can continue the important work we are doing building Navy ships.”
BIW currently has six U.S. Navy destroyers under construction, according to The Times Record, and is Maine’s fourth-largest employer, with 6,500 workers.
