Machinists Seek $100M for BIW-built Fleet
December 19, 2013
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The IAM is calling on Congress to approve funding that would offset a sequestration cut preventing the U.S. Navy from purchasing a full fleet of DDG-51-class destroyer ships.
IAM members at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Maine are scheduled to build four out of the 10 ships ordered in the Fiscal Year 2013-17 procurement. Huntington-Ingalls will construct five DDG-51s.
The IAM is urging the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to authorize $100 million to complete the order and allow BIW to build its fifth ship.
“Multiyear procurement contracts are an important way to achieve cost savings for the taxpayer while providing predictability to the defense industrial base,” wrote IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger in a letter to the committee. “Our highly-skilled members at BIW have consistently built ships on schedule and under budget. IAM ship builders are rightly proud of the work they do to ensure our national security. We only ask that Congress provide them with the support they need to do their job.”
Click here to read the full text of the letter.
