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IBEW, Machinists Could Ramp up
Navy’s Destroyer Fleet

July 20, 2009

Congress is debating a $515 billion Department of Defense budget proposal that Secretary Robert Gates said can ensure the Navy’s superior fighting capacity while helping keep the country’s shipbuilding industry afloat.

Gates stated in a speech April 6 that Congress should approve the budget, which provides for construction of three DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers and at least two revamped DDG-51 Burke-class destroyers. The Zumwalts would be built by International Association of Machinists members at Bath Iron Works in Maine, while Metal Trades workers and IBEW members at Pascagoula, Miss., Local 733 would create the Burkes at the Ingalls shipyard.

Hailed as a state-of-the-art vessel, the Zumwalt boasts stealth technology, peerless weapon systems and a smaller crew (see “Hearings Sought on Future of Navy’s New Stealth Destroyer,” January 2009, The Electrical Worker). The new versions of the earlier-model Burke ships would be upgraded with at least four of the 10 cutting-edge computer systems aboard the Zumwalt. About 1,700 members of Local 733 would build the new Burkes.

“I’m happy with any arrangement that keeps my members working,” said Jim Couch, business manger of Local 733. Couch said the last defense budget has allowed the local to continue building Burkes throughout 2009. “We’ve got a lot of work at the shipyard right now – we just want to make sure it keeps up.”

“This is good news for the industry and our membership,” IBEW Government Employees Department Director Chico McGill said. Ingalls had initially been tapped to build one of the first Zumwalts, but that plan was scrapped by the Defense Department. Union leaders are still pleased, however, as construction of the Burkes will give local members more man-hours and possibly set the stage for overhauling 64 more existing Burkes to add the new computer systems.

Local 733 members working at the Avondale shipyard in Gulfport, Miss., will build the three new Zumwalts’ superstructures – anything on the deck and above – and helicopter landing pads, which would be the equivalent of building a complete ship. Gates also said that Ingalls would build a fourth Zumwalt if one is ordered. “By that point, we would have the kinks worked out in the construction process, which saves time and taxpayer money,” McGill said.

“The big picture here is that the Navy has the most modern and capable ships, another AFL-CIO union is kept strong, and the IBEW members keep working because the industry stays viable,” McGill said.

Ron Ault, president of the Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, agrees. “It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said. “The shipbuilding yards are the last of the heavy industries, and it’s vitally important that we not lose any of them. They’re national treasures in terms of how we keep this country safe and keep many people working.”

Another piece of good news is the May confirmation of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. The former governor of Mississippi is knowledgeable about the shipbuilding industry and the companies involved. “He has a proven track record of being a friend of labor, as evidenced by his governorship and relations with electrical workers in Mississippi,” McGill said. “Things look good for us right now.”