Ukrainian visitors to L-1998 enjoy a close-up view of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. Left to right, Gary Powers, A/D-ISO; Jim Cooksey, IR; Bobby Godinez, L-1998 president; Tyler Brown, D-ISO/AAIP; Liubov Nyemov; Anatoliy Nyemov, chairman of the Okean Shipyard trade union; and Oksana Kovalka, interpreter.
Group tours NASSCO shipyard, views Boilermaker-built vessels
THE LEADER OF a Ukrainian shipyard union received a warm welcome March 22 at Local 1998 (National City, Calif.) and enjoyed a boat tour of the NASSCO shipyard from San Diego Bay.
Anatoliy Nyemov, chairman of the Okean Shipyard trade union in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, requested the meeting after learning about L-1998 on the lodge’s Voice of the Shipyard website. Mykolaiv is a major shipbuilding center on the Black Sea.
Nyemov visited lodge offices accompanied by his wife, Liubov, a shipbuilding welder engineer employed at the Okean yard, and interpreter Oksana Kovalka. Representing the Boilermakers were ISO Director/AAIP Tyler Brown, Assistant ISO Director Gary Powers, IR Jim Cooksey, and L-1998 President Robert Godinez.
The group met at the union hall and discussed shipbuilding and union rights before visiting with NASSCO officials. After a boat tour of the shipyard, the group viewed the USS Midway aircraft carrier, enjoyed lunch together, and exchanged gifts.
“It was a memorable event,” said Godinez. “Our guests saw all the ships we build and repair. They were very familiar with these types of ships and had many questions.”
Godinez said one of the interesting things they learned about Ukrainian shipyards is that they avoid strikes by working through a government agency that provides binding interest arbitration, similar to what is used in Major League Baseball.
