Leadership Connection: 8/28/20
Leadership Alert: Contract Vote Update- 8/23/20
Brothers and Sisters,
The vote is in! 87% of the membership voted YES for the contract. 87% is our number. We will be returning to work. Reminder to all 3rd shift employees, your shift starts tonight at your regular working hours.
Local S6 congratulates you all on the incredible show of solidarity. For many different reasons, the membership has unified like never before.
See you on the deck plates.
In Solidarity,
Local S6 Leadership
Strike Benefits Check Update: 8/20/20
Brothers and Sisters,
For all those that came to Union Hall for questions and answers on the upcoming vote this week and signed in for two (2) hours, your strike benefits check(s) are being distributed at the same location as before- The Bath Senior Center, 45 Floral St. in Bath at the following time:
SUNDAY AUGUST 23RD 1:00 PM UNTIL 7:00 PM
If the contract is ratified and you were unable to come on Sunday, August 23rd, to pick up your check, the remainder of the check(s) will be being distributed at the same location – The Bath Senior Center, 45 Floral St. in Bath at the following times:
TUESDAY AUGUST 25TH 5:30 AM TO 7:30 AM AND 1:30 PM TO 4:30 PM
THURSDAY AUGUST 27TH 5:30 AM TO 7:30 AM AND 1:30 PM TO 4:30 PM
*We strongly recommend everyone who has visited the Union Hall for questions and answers on the upcoming vote and signed in for two (2) hours to pick up your check(s) on SUNDAY, AUGUST 23rd.*
In Solidarity,
Local S6 Leadership
Leadership Alert: 8/19/20
Brothers and Sisters,
As we all know, all of us have an important vote coming up this weekend and there are still many questions and concerns from many members. Local S6 would like to provide some perspective.
Let’s start with COVID-19. This pandemic started to ravage the world earlier this year in the February/March timeframe. Life, as we knew it changed in an instant and we, were all forced to do things we weren’t used to. To be more specific and closer to home, the work environment changed at GDBIW, impacting the way business is being conducted and placing the Union in a reactionary position unlike ever before. Liberal leave, news/media, state and federal legislators, facemasks, travel restrictions, parking, and LOA’s to name a few. All while trying to build the best ships in the world for the US Navy.
Through that, both parties were preparing for contract negotiations in April, with the contract ending May 17th at midnight. With all the unknowns surrounding executive orders, social distancing, and restrictions placed on large gatherings, decisions had to be made to accommodate the need to not only sit in a room and negotiate with GDBIW but how we were to vote on a contract. Everything was moved forward a month, allowing for preparations for an area large enough to negotiate in, while abiding by state executive orders, and securing a viable third-party method of voting.
The Union Negotiating Committee traveled to the IAMAW Winpisinger Education and Technology Center for specialized training in negotiating. They worked extremely hard on preparation, knowing this was going to be a fight. The committee returned and continued to prepare while trying to build solidarity with the membership.
Once negotiations started, the committee provided day to day updates on what was going on. They traveled to EBMF, CW, Hardings, and the Main Yard on all shifts to put the hammer down with the membership over the displeasure surrounding GDBIWs wants. They held rallies to build strength and solidarity, talked with members to educate them on the facts, all the while building momentum to regain the power of the Union. They fought against the Company, who was disciplining our members for concerted activity. They won and protected the rights of our members.
After three painful weeks of negotiations, our Negotiations Committee voted unanimously to reject the contract based on subcontracting and seniority eroding language, along with high insurance costs. We, as a Union, voted overwhelmingly to go on strike (87%). We stood up to the greedy company and knowingly sacrificed to fight for what was right, a fair contract.
A few weeks into the strike the Union reached out to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for their assistance in getting back to the table and getting our members back to work. Initial talks fell short until phone calls and letters from Local S6 Leadership were written to the IAMAW President Robert Martinez, Congress, General Dynamics, and the Secretary of the Navy. Talks ensued behind the scenes, resulting in the Director of FMCS, Richard Giacolone, as appointed by President Trump, to get GDBIW and Local S6 back to the table and enter mediation. Upon entering mediation in the first week of August, General Dynamics sent Executive Vice President Rob Smith to sit with GDBIW. These two individuals are what truly allowed the Negotiating Committee the ability to prove GDBIW didn’t need what they wanted. It allowed them to prove that the 253 years of shipbuilding experience sitting at the table on the Union side would help get GDBIW back on track. They provided reasonable options that had been crafted while leading up to negotiations, while on strike, and in the month leading up to mediation. The committee justified everything proposed and provided historical practice and economic value that would result in regaining schedule without stripping seniority and subcontracting our work.
The result was a hard-fought proposal, endorsed by the committee, that removed language that put our membership on strike. We all must remember that throughout the months and months of this process our membership has unified more than ever before. The power of solidarity is a testament to the strength the committee had at the table. We all must remember why we went on strike, the state and federal legislators that came and picketed, the Unions across the state and around the country that either visited or sent financial support, the community standing strong, and all the sacrifices we all made to get us where we are today.
We all need to keep everything in perspective – the long tireless fight, the tremendous support, and the incredible sacrifice we all endured. Being on strike is an ugly reality that gets everyone emotional, frustrated, and angry. We must all remember that this fight was about non-economic issues. Rarely, if ever, does any Union come out of a strike with raises and a signing bonus. It is generally unheard of. In 1985 Local S6 came back from striking for $0.05 less than the original offer.
Everyone needs to realize, we deserve more money, we are essential workers who build the best ships for the US Navy, but that was not our fight. Continuing to stay out would only cause us to lose all of our support, everything we fought for would go away, and we would start over. We would look like the greedy Union that various people accusing us of being. In 1938, in one of the biggest hits to the Union movement, the US Supreme Court ruled in NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph that an employer may hire strikebreakers and is not bound to discharge any of them if or when the strike ends. This provides corporations an instrumental method for a firm to replace economic strikers and to resist their return to employment after a strike. Local S6 is only providing facts, we are not telling anyone how to vote. Everyone needs to be as educated as they can be to be able to accurately vote.
Finally, to address the non-picketing this week. Bullet 19 in the strike settlement agreement stipulates that, pending the ratification vote on the TA, and upon signing this agreement, the Union will immediately withdraw all pickets. The Union did not cave in. This is a step forward and gesture of good faith to show we are willing to work together. The Company agreed to credit us with 40 hrs toward our vacation accrual for the month of August so members choosing to return on August 24th wouldn’t lose it. We have a tentative agreement on the table to be voted on, lets see what happens.
Through this entire fight, the Union has had the memberships back and some people think this was a bad decision. It’s unthinkable that in some people’s eyes the Union failed them and stopped fighting. That is simply not true. We will never stop fighting for you.
We encourage all our members to come down to the Union Hall, ask questions to the leadership, and get educated. People living behind the protection of their phones simply breed rumors and only fracture what this Union has worked so hard to build back up, our unity, and solidarity. Distrust and fracturing are issues of the past. Our leadership is united for the betterment of our membership. We are simply trying to give some perspective and education so everyone can make an informed decision when voting. The Union is looking forward to hearing from you and helping in any way we can.
United We’re One, Divided We’re Done.
In Solidarity,
Local S6 Leadership
Leadership Alert: 8/17/20: Solidarity At The Union Hall
Brothers and Sisters,
Being the last week before the vote this weekend the Union will not be picketing the gates or holding strike signs. Security and the fencing around GDBIW will soon be removed as well. All offsite facilities are officially closed to picketing.
The Union is allowing everyone to come to the Union Hall for questions and answers on the upcoming vote. In keeping with this update, the Union is adjusting its hours for the membership. The adjusted hours will be:
4:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Monday through Friday
6:00 AM to 5:00 PM Saturday
6:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Sunday
Whereas we are not picketing, we will not be running 24/7. You are still required to sign in but only have to be here for two (2) hours. We will still be issuing all members who come down and sign in their full strike check benefit. We also will be serving food throughout the day.
To be clear, there is NO PICKETING at any GDBIW facilities and there will be NO strike signs. Instead, come to the Union Hall and sign in as you normally have been, stay for two (2) hours, and you will still get your strike benefits check. We are continuing to build solidarity, and this is why we are taking this approach. We encourage our members to come to ask questions and get accurate answers, not opinions or misinterpretations.
Normally, the way we used to vote gave the membership the opportunity to ask questions. We are providing this opportunity to all members for the remainder of the week at the Union Hall.
The upcoming vote is this weekend from Friday, 12:01 AM, 8/21/20 through Sunday, Noon, 8/23/20.
Lastly, The Union is having a Solidarity event this Saturday, August 22nd, here at the Union Hall starting at 5 PM. The IAM President Robert Martinez will be in attendance, along with several State and Federal Legislators.
In Solidarity,
Local S6 Leadership
Strike Settlement Agreement
LEADERSHIP ALERT: STRIKE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Local S6 and BIW have come to a Strike Settlement Agreement.
• The Strike Settlement Agreement is a separate agreement from the contract proposal and is not voted on.
• This agreement explains the terms and conditions on how the membership returns to work should the membership ratify the proposed contract.
• We have provided the document in its entirety at the end of this post but would like to give a more detailed explanation of the three (3) most often asked questions.
1. Employees will be assigned to return to work starting Monday, August 24th, 2020.
a. Employees normally assigned to 3rd shift will return on their normal shift: Sunday, August 23rd, 2020.
b. Employees may elect to return:
i. Monday, August 31st, 2020 OR Tuesday, September 8th, 2020.
ii. YOU MUST CALL THE CALL-IN CENTER ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 24TH TO DECLARE YOUR START DATE IF YOU CHOOSE TO RETURN ON MONDAY, AUGUST 31ST, 2020 OR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2020.
iii. IF NOT, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO DISCIPLINE.
Example: You work for another business and need to give notice to your employer and are planning on returning on Monday, August 31st . You would need to call the call-in center on or before Monday, August 24th to declare your intention of returning the following Monday (August 31st). The same would apply if you were to return Tuesday, September 8th.
2. Vacation accrual for the month of August 2020.
a. BIW has agreed to credit 40 of the 80-hours needed to accrue vacation time for the month of August.
b. Employees must either work or use an appropriate absence code the last full week of August to accrue the 80 hours needed.
3. Insurance will be activated when you return to work on August 24th.
a. Should a member use a PB, vacation day, or FMLA on Monday, August 24th, that will count towards activating your benefits.
b. Should a member declare to BIW through the call-in center on or by August 24th that they will be returning on August 31st or September 8th then whichever of the two they return to work on would be the activation date of your benefits.
For those who noticed missing Holidays in 2023:
– Memorial Day and Independence Day 2023 have been added.
– This was an oversite prior to printing the contract proposal.
Entire Strike Settlement Agreement (Click Here)
In Solidarity,
Local S6 Negotiating Committee