Submarine Designers' Union Wins Lucrative Contract, Averting Strike

 

The draftsman's union for General Dymanics Electric Boat has agreed to a five-year labor contract with a hefty wage hike, heading off an impending strike. The union's members will see their pay increase by nearly a third by the end of the period, leaders said in an update over the weekend. 

UAW Marine Draftsmens' Association Local 571 represents 2,500 workers who draw up schematics for sub construction at GD Electric Boat, one of the two firms in the United States that can build nuclear-powered submarines. They make up about 10 percent of the company's workforce. Electric Boat holds contracts for the Columbia-class and the next generation of the Virginia-class attack sub, two of the Navy's highest-priority programs.

The $130 billion Columbia-class program is urgently needed. The Columbias will replace the aging Ohio-class boats as the platform for the nation's at-sea nuclear deterrent, the most survivable second-strike option in the arsenal. The UAW MDA's members did the detail design for Columbia, and they also produce the plans used on the shop floor for construction. 

GD Electric Boat initially offered the union a raise of 23 percent and improvements to retirement benefits. In April, the union said that the boost was not enough, and the membership voted to authorize a strike if talks did not produce a better package. A strike could have created further delays for Columbia, which is already more than a year behind schedule and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget because of supply chain and production delays. 

Electric Boat and union leaders eventually settled on a giant pay increase of 30.6 percent over five years, amounting to "an increased value of $115,000 per member on average over the life of the agreement," according to UAW regional director Brandon Mancilla. It also continues retirement-plan policies as before, without the employer's proposal for a new tiered benefits system. The union conceded that it did not secure all of its demands for pension improvements, profit sharing and cost of living adjustments. 

"The bargaining committees worked diligently to find common areas of interest that resulted in wage and benefits enhancements that positively impact employees’ quality of life, and achieve fair and equitable results," said Electric Boat VP of HR Shawn Coyne and Local 571 president William Louis in a joint statement. "This package recognizes the essential role of the MDA members in the production of submarines for the U.S. Navy."

The wage increase means added cost for production, but Congress had already anticipated that labor costs at Electric Boat and other submarine industrial base suppliers would increase. The latest two-sub contract for Electric Boat and HII Newport News included adjustments for workforce incentives, addressing the substantial difficulty that the yards have had in finding and keeping skilled labor.  

“The strong wage package . . . reflects the goal of special funding Congress approved last December to help submarine shipyards recruit and retain the talented workforce required to execute our nation’s aggressive submarine construction plans," said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) in a statement. 

The union's rank-and-file members still have to vote to approve the contract.