A fair deal in the works with Navy
Electric Boat unions report progress in CT talks
A labor coalition at Electric Boat is reporting optimism it can float a new contract agreement by Friday, as the Groton submarine plant races to keep up with Navy schedules for new attack subs.
A subsidiary of General Dynamics, Electric Boat is one of two U.S. shipyards that builds submarines along with the Newport News shipyard operated by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Virginia. Electric Boat has just over 14,200 workers at its main Groton shipyard, engineering offices in New London and an office in Stonington, with about 21,000 people in all.
Electric Boat also operates the Quonset Point plant in Rhode Island that makes hull components, and which does not have union workers.
Workers represented by the Metal Trades Council voted by a 32-1 margin at the end of August to proceed with a strike if labor negotiators saw the need, which could possibly be a huge setback for the U.S. Navy’s submarine force projections during a period of increased tensions with China and Russia. At the time, union leaders called the strike vote “a great tool in our pocket” ahead of September negotiations.
In a new letter to union members co-signed by an Electric Boat executive, the Metal Trades Council of New London County reported “good progress” after a month of negotiations. The existing contract had been scheduled to expire on Sept. 23.
“Tentative agreements have been reached on most non-economic topics,” stated Pete Baker, president of the Metal Trades Council, in the letter cosigned by Shawn Coyne, vice president of HR for Electric Boat. “The parties have exchanged economic proposals and the balance of negotiations will focus on achieving a fair deal that recognizes the needs of our employees and supports our organization’s critical mission.”
General Dynamics encountered brinksmanship at its other New England shipyard this summer, as union organizers passed out strike tee shirts to Bath Iron Works members in Maine in advance of a contract deadline. The sides reached a new contract to avert a labor stoppage at the Bath destroyer assembly yard.
Electric Boat has started construction of the first Columbiaclass ballistic missile submarines, with a dozen eyed to replace Ohio-class class submarines armed with nuclear warheads. The Navy also wants two new Virginia-class attack submarines annually.