They now have good wages, benefits and can take care of their family with a union job because they have protection.
The bargaining committee, made up of several different union members, celebrates their historic contract win at Ingalls Shipbuilding. From l. to r., back row: Laterrio Dawson, UA Local 436; Shanet Hamilton, UA Local 436; L-693 BM-ST Terrence Nellum and L-693 Chief Steward Dennis Willis. Middle row: L-693’s Ronald Robinson; L-463 UA Business Manager Charles Jones; L-693 Chief Steward Caleb Hines and SMART L-441 Chief Steward Myia Wilcox. Front row: ED-ISO Don Hamric, L-693 President and Pascagoula Metal Trades President Martina Taite and SMART L-441 Chief Steward Johnny Cooper.
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After 18 years of contract extensions with no base wage increase, union workers at Ingalls Shipbuilding negotiated an impressive contract offering an 18% wage increase for the first year alone. The agreement was inked in February, after nearly six months of negotiations.
The new labor agreement between the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council and Ingalls Shipbuilding covers approximately 6,000 union workers at Ingalls, including Boilermakers. Critical crafts including shipfitters, structural welders, pipefitters, pipe welders, sheet metal combination workers and some warehouse CDL drivers received an additional wage bump—up to 10%. In addition, workers will earn annual raises of 3% through 2029 and a 5% increase in 2030.
Members at Local 693 (Pascagoula, Mississippi) are one of the critical crafts in the agreement receiving the extra wage increase, according to Pascagoula Metal Trades Council President and L-693 President Martina Taite. But getting any wage increase wasn’t easy.
“Going into this contract, we were adamant we weren’t doing any extensions,” Taite said. “We were having problems getting critical crafts needed to progress the shifts to the next phase. Ingalls brought in contractors because they couldn’t get the skilled workers in there with pay so low. It used to be if you worked at the shipyard, you had it made. You could provide for your family.”
Taite and the rest of the bargaining committee decided it needed to be that way again. With the low pay before the new contract, Boilermakers and other union workers were picking up side gigs just to pay the bills. Taite would sometimes order food delivery for her family on days she was slammed at work. One night, she was surprised that two employees of Ingalls showed up at her door to deliver the food. And it happened with different people the next week.
“Here we are doing the strenuous work, working overtime, and then getting another job just to pay the bills,” she said.
Tensions were especially high in the beginning of negotiations because over the previous 18 years, the company had not met with the Pascagoula Metal Trades to ink a new contract; they just offered extensions with a bonus, which members agreed to. Over those 18 years, Ingalls changed leadership, and the new leaders knew about the contract extensions. However, they were not as well-versed about collective bargaining and the negotiating that went into it.
“This is one of the toughest negotiations that I've ever had,” said ISO Executive Director Don Hamric. “We had 11 union affiliates that all had different needs, wants and desires in the contract negotiation process. To bring all that together was very, very tough. And realistically, probably one of the toughest things I've done in my career at this point.”
Going into talks, Taite said the company had expectations: There shouldn’t be questions and the Metal Trades Council should simply send the company’s proposed contract out to union members for a vote without bargaining with the committee.
Conflicts were numerous in the beginning. “We stood firm and we made sure to explain our position—that the language needs to change and we need a pay raise,” Taite said. “They didn’t understand that they propose language and the committee talks about it and goes back to say ‘No, we don’t want this language.’ The leadership was used to contract extensions. Those weren’t hard for them.”
The new contract took months. Taite said the committee had meetings with management, then they caucused with their members. “We wanted to make sure we got the message out to the membership, so we did town halls for each affiliate. We gave them surveys and got very good feedback on that.”
When management saw the committee standing in unity, firm in their requests, the company vice presidents finally began to agree with the committee’s proposed language. That led to a final contract agreement.
“It’s historic. In the history of Ingalls, we’ve never had such an increase,” Taite said. “An 18% increase for everyone—we’ve never had this. I’m just so ecstatic.”
Members are, too.
L-693 BM-ST Terrence Nellum said before the contract, he could see low morale across the membership. After the contract, “morale is out of the roof,” he said. “They’re thanking me and my whole team. They now have good wages, benefits and can take care of their family with a union job because they have protection.”
L-693 Chief Steward Caleb Hines saw the same sense of defeat on the shop floor. The upshift in morale for workers is palpable, he said.
The new Ingalls contract is a testament to the power of workers when they unify. And when they use that influence, they win.
“I hope that the membership from all affiliates understand the power of the unions,” said Hamric. “And I think that a lot of the members here finally experienced that. After never negotiating in their career here, they got the opportunity to negotiate. And what they found was that they have power.”
