BIW Strikers Upbeat, Determined After 3 Weeks On The Picket Line (From The Portland Press Herald)

Lexington COO Loren Thompson was quoted in The Portland Press Herald’s update on the strike at Bath Iron Works, one of the Navy’s oldest shipyards. As it stands, there is no immediate sign of reconciliation between BIW management and Local S6, the shipyard’s largest union.

According to Thompson, the inflection point of a strike often comes after six to eight weeks, as picketers begin to feel the strain on their finances, when “the second rent check comes due.” After that, said Thompson, “the pocketbook impact becomes pretty compelling in terms of finding a compromise.” A prolonged strike can divide longtime workers, who consider the union part of their identity, from newer ones, who “don’t have that same perspective,” he continued.

Read the full article here.