BIW, union at odds over outsourcing plan
file PHOTo / Courtesy Bath Iron Works
A Zumwalt deckhouse is lifted into place at Bath Iron Works in this file photo. BIW is under contract to build all three of the Zumwalt-class of Navy destroyers.
A shrinking Navy budget could force Bath Iron Works to cut as many as 1,200 jobs in the years ahead, which the shipyard is citing as a major reason it must cut production costs to stay competitive against two other shipyards in vying for a major U.S. Coast Guard contract.
The Portland Press Herald reported that preventing the layoffs is a key rationale for BIW's proposal to outsource some ship component fabrication work that is currently being done by unionized employees — a proposal that is being contested by the shipyard's largest union.
BIW President Fred Harris said it's necessary to compete with two leaner, non-unionized shipyards for the Coast Guard contract, worth an estimated $12 billion. He said the proposal also would put BIW in a better position for the future, noting that competition for Navy shipbuilding will grow as federal military budgets continue to shrink.
Jay Wadleigh, president of Local S6 of the Machinists Union, said while the union supports BIW's effort to cut costs, he doesn't think BIW would achieve its cost-savings goal with the outsourcing proposal.
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