Unions call on BIW to send workers home with full pay
On Monday, Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, the U.S.’s fifth-largest defense contractor, announced they would only offer their workers unpaid leave as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leaders of the shipyard two largest unions, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Locals S6 and S7, responded on Tuesday, demanding the company send workers home for two weeks with full pay.
“We call on Bath Iron Works and General Dynamics to follow the lead of other Maine businesses — LL Bean, Oxford Casino, Fisher Engineering, Bull Moose, Patagonia, the list goes on and on — who are closing down temporarily, sending people home with full pay,” said Matt Schlobohm, executive director of Maine AFL-CIO, of which the Locals S6 and S7 are affiliates.
Chris Wiers, president of the Local S6, stressed the shipyard’s responsibility to its workers and the communities they live in.
Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/unions-call-on-biw-to-send-workers-home-with-full-pay/