Draftsmen strike at Bath Iron Works heads into third day

More than 600 Bath Iron Works employees are on strike this week, after the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association rejected the company’s latest offer.

Union membership voted Sunday to reject General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works’ proposal, and a statement from the union said the offer doesn’t address low pay, affordable insurance and retirement income security.

Association President Trent Vellella said when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited BIW last month, union members took his comments about the importance of their work seriously.

“General Dynamics continues to make record profits off our labor and gives away BILLIONS every year through stock buybacks and dividends while many of our members live paycheck to paycheck,” Vellella said in a statement. “With this company proposal, General Dynamics is continuing to show that corporate earnings per share are more important than our members’ earning per pay period.”

In a statement Tuesday, BIW spokesperson David Hench said the company has offered annual wage increases amounting to 28% over the four-year contract. The latest proposal also includes a choice of three health insurance plans, a company-funded contribution to their health savings account, and preservation of work from home, Hench said.

“BIW remains committed to offering a contract that attracts and retains talented workers,” Hench said.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner joined the picket line Tuesday morning. In a Facebook post, Platner said union members wages are lagging behind inflation, and Maine is becoming “impossible to afford.”

“They’re fighting back,” he said. “So should the rest of us.”