Below you will find some recent activity that’s been happening in the shipyard. The Local views this as more of the same unwarranted self-congratulatory behavior. The true workers of Local S6 accomplished the majority of these tasks and set up management and scabs to take credit for work order closure with no details of what actually took place. Lack of management skills somehow justifies more PR for BIW. We are of the opinion it is not worth the paper it’s printed on. Stay strong and stand united!
The LS6 Negotiating Committee sent a comprehensive package of offers and solutions to subcontracting and major production issues to Phebe Novakovic. These proposals were submitted to BIW before and during negotiations. We hoped that with her review/input it would bringing BIW management to the table to negotiate a fair agreement. Phebe forwarded this package to Dirk Lesko. His response is below.
Please note the highlighted paragraph. Remember when BIW said they weren’t attacking our seniority. We are of the opinion that they are and this letter is consistent with that viewpoint.
In case you’ve been living under a rock and think BIW values any of us, the proof lies in this recent post from CTS on Facebook.
(see below)
For all those who attended Christenings’, remember when BIW, State/Federal Legislators, and representatives from the US Navy would take turns speaking to us from a microphone behind a podium. They would echo one another on the value of BIW’s manufacturing employees and how through the hard work, dedication, and personal sacrifice, all the men and women contributed to BIW in building the most sophisticated warships in the Naval fleet.
The praises of honor and legacy that are synonymous with Local S6 built ships are a testament to our history and more importantly our future.
It is apparent that all those speeches were for not. We are clearly not valued or appreciated and are just a number on a faceless badge. BIW management will certainly go down in the history books for providing the playbook on how to destroy one of the fundamental foundation blocks of Naval defense in the United States.
Crippling shockwaves of economic downfall will certainly plague the State of Maine for decades to come.
For more than nine (9) months, Local S6 has been working diligently with State and Federal representatives and the IAM National in DC to provide reasonable options on how to manage our shipyard successfully with no acceptance from BIW. BIW was persistent in its need for scabs.
It’s obviously BIW’s playbook and strategic plan that will be the inevitable demise of our shipyard if they’re not corrected with a common-sense change of course.
We have a saying in the shipyard, HERO TO ZERO. That’s exactly what we are in BIW’s eyes. From essential employees with a critical mission during COVID-19, to now greedy shipbuilders on the picket line as BIW continues scab our work.
