Analysts: BIW’s Future Depends On Union, Management Cooperation (From Portland Press Herald)

Lexington Chief Operating Officer Loren Thompson was quoted in the Portland Press Herald’s recent article about the ongoing strike at Bath Iron Works, a major Navy shipyard, which is now entering its third week. The Local S6 Machinists Union, representing the majority of the company’s employees, voted to strike on June 22 as a response to the shipyard’s demands to continue subcontracting and change seniority privileges.

According to Thompson, when tension between a company and its unions becomes a chronic issue, it can slow production and increase costs for the customer, in this case the Navy, making the shipyard less likely to win future contracts. “When you’re trying to compete in a price-based competition [for contracts], you need everyone in your yard to be on the same wavelength, and that’s not the case at Bath Iron Works,” he said. “There are always ways to improve the workflow and be more efficient, but if the people on the deckplate aren’t communicating with higher management, many of those issues may never get resolved.”

Read the full article here.