Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Metal Trades Department News

09 Aug 2020

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Union Reach Agreement

General Dynamics announced today that the negotiating teams from Bath Iron Works and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local S6 reached agreement last night on mutually acceptable terms to end the ongoing strike by shipyard workers in Bath, Maine. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service deputy director Rich Giacolone and IAM International President Robert Martinez helped to facilitate the tentative agreement.“We are pleased to have reached agreement with our union partners and look forward to getting back to the job of building ships for the U.S. Navy,” said Phebe Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer.

08 Apr 2020

Philly Shipyard Wins Contract to Build US Training Ships

(Image: MARAD)

Philly Shipyard has been awarded a contract to build up to five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) that will enable at-sea training for America’s future mariners and support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in times of need.TOTE Services, selected in May 2019 by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) as the vessel construction manager for the NSMV program, placed an initial order with Philly Shipyard for the first two vessels for delivery in Spring and Winter 2023…

17 Mar 2017

Skilled Workers Needed to Build Trump's Navy Vision

U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to build dozens of new warships in one of the biggest peace-time expansions of the U.S. Navy. But interviews with ship-builders, unions and a review of public and internal documents show major obstacles to that plan. The initiative could cost nearly $700 billion in government funding, take 30 years to complete and require hiring tens of thousands of skilled shipyard workers - many of whom don't exist yet because they still need to be hired and trained, according to the interviews and the documents reviewed. Trump has vowed a huge build-up of the U.S. military to project American power in the face of an emboldened China and Russia. That includes expanding the Navy to 350 warships from 275 today.

07 Nov 2013

Ingalls Reports Third Quarter Results

Mike Petters, HII president and chief executive officer

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), a company that designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe, reported third quarter 2013 revenues of $1.64 billion, up 2.6% from the same period last year. Third quarter diluted earnings per share was $1.36, compared to $0.26 in the same period of 2012. Segment operating income in the third quarter was $142 million, compared to $89 million in the same period last year.

13 Feb 2013

Labor, Maritime Business Coalition Urge Congress to Avoid CR

A bipartisan coalition urge Congress to pass a Defense Appropriation Bill to avoid another Continuing Resolution (CR) & Sequestration. A bipartisan coalition of labor unions and maritime business owners affiliated with the Shipbuilding Council of America have jointly sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass a defense appropriations bill and avoid sequestration cuts before the Navy begins widespread lay-offs and cancellation of ship maintenance on February 15, 2013. •    Up to 46,000 Department of Defense civilian employees will be immediately laid off. •    Another 800,000 workers will face furlough days resulting in a 20 percent pay cut. •    More than 100,000 people could lose jobs in the shipbuilding and repair industry and our supply chain.

20 Oct 2011

Huntington Ingalls Explores Options for Conversion

With State and Federal Assistance, Huntington Ingalls to Explore Options for Avondale Conversion; Save Our Shipyard Coalition Hails New Developments. "This is good news for the people of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana—indeed America," declared Metal Trades Department President Ron Ault, welcoming the announcement that Huntington Ingalls will collaborate with state and federal authorities to explore options to transition Avondale. One of those options would be converting the facility into a commercial shipyard. "We look forward to working with the state and all our stakeholders to maintain Avondale as the largest private employer in the state and as a pathway to the middle class for future generations," Ault said.

16 Oct 2011

Metal Trades Dept: Navy Won't Incentivize Closing Avondale

Metal Trades Department Praises Rep. Richmond, Sen. Landrieu and Avondale SOS Partners. Thanks to the work of Senator Mary Landrieu and Congressman Cedric Richmond and the Avondale SOS Coalition, Avondale Shipyard took another step toward stability after they persuaded the federal government to remove the financial incentive for Huntington Ingalls to shut down the shipyard. "This is a hopeful new development for working families in Avondale," said Metal Trades Department President Ron Ault. "Thanks to the hard work and determination of Representative Richmond and Senator Landrieu, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, and all our SOS coalition partners, Avondale could have a new life. Sen. Landrieu and Rep. Richmond sent a letter to Sec.

29 Sep 2008

Aker Philly Shipyard Build Methodologies Confirmed in Court Decision

In a decision filed by the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has upheld the United States Coast Guard interpretation of the Jones Act as it relates to the modern building methods employed by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The decision rejected a lawsuit filed by the Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard President and CEO, Jim Miller remarked “We wish to reiterate that Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is extremely proud to be building ships in full compliance with the legal requirements for vessels to be operated in the Jones Act trade. We are satisfied with the…

11 Jan 2001

Avondale Workers Approve Agreement

Avondale Shipbuilding employees voted to approve the terms of their first union contract with Litton Industries. The company's 1,500 Metal Trades -represented workers approved the agreement by a four-to-one margin. The 45-month agreement, negotiated by the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, provides an immediate three percent wage hike in January as part of an overall nine percent wage hike paid in three increments. Also in the area of wages, the contract sets up a formal skill progression system that will move the majority of employees into higher-paid categories after working 500 hours in any lower classification. Wages under the agreement range from $8.25/hour for semi-skilled new hires to $16/hour at the top of the highest skill level.

16 Jan 2007

U.S. Labor Seeks Ban on Some Foreign Ship Parts

The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has sued the U.S. Coast Guard over allowing domestic shipyards to use preassembled foreign ship parts and engines, Ron Ault, president of the MTD, said on Tuesday. Preassembled ship parts require little or no assembly at U.S. shipyards, and cut the need for U.S. labor at these yards, he told Reuters in an interview. MTD, a trade department of the American federation of labor unions, coordinates negotiating, organizing and legislative efforts of affiliated metal-working and related crafts and trade unions. Angela McArdle, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman, said it was the Coast Guard's policy not to comment on pending litigation. MTD's suit, filed late last week in the U.S.

12 Jan 2007

AFL-CIO Sues Coast Guard to Block Kit Ships

The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has sued the U.S. Coast Guard to block controversial rulings that violate the 80-year-old Jones Act to allow U.S. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charges that a ruling issued on May 24, 2006 and affirmed on November 15, 2006 by the Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center, ignores the requirements of the Jones Act that stipulate that ships moving between U.S. ports must be "built in" the U.S. Shipyards Philadelphia (APSI) and NASSCO, a division of General Dynamics, to produce a series of tankers that are assembled from thousands of parts and modules imported from Korea.

22 Jun 2006

Union Fights Aker Over Foreign Parts

The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported that the Department of Homeland Security has rejected an AFL-CIO complaint about use of foreign-made parts at the Philadelphia shipyard, prompting the union to vow a political fight over U.S. shipbuilding protections. The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO asked the Coast Guard, part of Homeland Security, in mid-May to review Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc.'s construction of 10 tankers based on a design bought from South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and using components procured through Hyundai. The union claimed that Aker was violating the Jones Act, a law intended to protect U.S. shipbuilding by allowing only U.S.-made ships to be certified to ply U.S. ports. Aker, a unit of Norway-based Aker A.S.A.

22 May 2006

Union Questions Aker Philadelphia's Jones Act Compliance

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the AFL-CIO accused Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc. of undercutting the struggling U.S. shipbuilding industry by using too many foreign-made components in its new vessels. Aker, formerly Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, denied the allegations, and asserted it is leading the industry's rebirth by expanding its business using mostly local workers and suppliers. The war of words began after the labor federation's Metal Trades Department, representing about 600 Philadelphia shipyard workers, said Thursday that it was asking the Coast Guard to probe Aker's use of components and prefabricated parts from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and other South Korean companies.

19 May 2006

AFL-CIO Metal Trades Dept. Seeks Ruling for Jones Act

U.S. with the requirements of the Jones Act. discussions with key members of Congress to start inquiries on the Hill. commodities between U.S. ports. Hyundai violates the terms of the Jones Act. directly from Hyundai. be used in the Jones Act market. facilities and the employees to produce vessels. particular," declared MTD President Ron Ault. South Korea," he added. brought them into the Philadelphia Shipyard in the first place. ship," Ault said. pre-assembled ship modules and components from South Korea and Germany. isn't like we can't do this work. Lines, proving we can build American Jones Act ships in Philadelphia. region. shipyard grounds. and to set up apprenticeship programs to train local workers. brought in foreign shipyard workers to "train" U.S.

01 Dec 1999

Avondale Shipyard Workers Unionize

An arbitrator has certified union representation for 4,100 workers at Litton Industries Inc.'s Avondale shipyard in New Orleans, labor officials said. When Litton bought the shipyard in August, it allowed workers to sign cards indicating whether they favored a union. The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, a federation of U.S. labor organizations, said confirmation of a successful signature drive had been received. For more than 50 years, Avondale had been the only major non-union shipyard building U.S. Navy and commercial ships. In recent years, workers filed numerous reports about dangerous working conditions, but the company's previous management accused federal inspectors of assisting the union in its organizing drive.

06 Dec 1999

Avondale Workers Unionize

An arbitrator certified union representation for 4,100 workers at Litton Industries Inc.'s Avondale shipyard in New Orleans. labor sources said. Avondale workers had been locked in a bitter fight with management over union representation since 1993, but when Litton bought the shipyard in August, the company agreed to remain neutral and let workers sign cards indicating they favored a union. The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, a federation of U.S. labor organizations, said confirmation of the successful signature drive had been received. "We will be asking Litton to plan for full-scale negotiations as early as possible in the new year," said a statement by John Meese, president of the national Metal Trades Department.