Strikers to Go Back at Nassco
About 2,700 striking National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. workers voted over the weekend to approve a temporary agreement that allows them to return to work today for 60 days while the unions and company try to hammer out a new labor agreement.
The unusual compromise was worked out with the aid of a federal mediator. Workers have been on strike for 24 days, after failing to reach agreement with the San Diego company on the main issues of seniority, health insurance and wages.
A source close to the negotiations said Sunday that the shipyard unions agreed to the temporary agreement because “we want the company to recognize that, while we are flexible, we also have a lot of solidarity in the ranks.”
Sources close to the negotiations said the agreement was actually signed Friday but was contingent on final approval by the rank and file.
On Sunday, a source who did not want to be identified said both sides are close to reaching agreement on the dispute over seniority rights, which is the most controversial of the issues still to be resolved.
The source said Nassco negotiators had attempted to win a concession from the unions that would have allowed the company to lay off workers without regard to seniority.
“They wanted to be completely arbitrary about it,” the source said. “Basically, they wanted to lay people off as they please. Seniority wouldn’t matter.”
Union workers struck Nassco, the last privately owned shipyard on the West Coast, after their contract expired at midnight Sept. 29. It was the fourth strike at the shipyard since 1981.
“People aren’t happy about going back to work without a contract, after being out for 23 days,” a union source said. “But now the company can’t say that we aren’t willing to negotiate in good faith. I can guarantee that, if there is no agreement in two months, we’ll walk out again.”
Union leaders said the fear of losing future contracts because of the strike could pressure company negotiators to compromise on a new contract.
“The company needs to have a labor agreement in order to attract new business,” a source familiar with the negotiations said. “Nassco cannot build ships without a labor agreement, because the company cannot guarantee a delivery date for a ship unless the workers are in the yard.”
Nassco officials have countered that the company cannot remain competitive and attract new business unless the unions lower their demands. The company has offered a five-year contract with 25-cent-an-hour annual raises above the current $12.72 journeyman wage.
The unions have asked for a wage increase of $2 an hour over a three-year contract, along with preservation of seniority and union rights.
