The U.S.S. KITTY HAWK is first aircraft carrier in the U. S. Navy armed with guided missiles. The 60,000-ton carrier was built by Boilermakers and other union trades.
A milestone in maritime history was marked on Armed Forces Day, May 21, 1960, with the christening of the super carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey. Members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers now shuttered Lodge 801 were on hand to share in the spotlight and excitement along with many distinguished guests.
The christening ceremonies climaxed almost four years of work by Boilermakers and other union members at the New Jersey firm, the second largest shipbuilding company in the United States at the time. The U.S.S. Kitty Hawk was the first aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy to be armed with guided missiles. She was christened by Mrs. Neil H. McElroy, wife of the former Secretary of Defense, before a cheering holiday crowd of more than 25,000 onlookers.
As the principal speaker for the occasion, Secretary of the Navy William Franke offered a tribute to union members whose skilled labor built U.S.S. Kitty Hawk.
“From the decks of the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, we will operate the most modern of jet aircrafts. But this would not be possible, regardless of technical progress, if it were not for the individual skill, industry and initiative of the men and women who have built her. For no matter how well a ship is designed, her performance rests with those who have contributed their skills to her construction.”
Many of those skilled trade workers were Boilermakers. Leon Johnson, President and acting Executive Secretary of Lodge 801, gave credit to the men and women in his local for the ships they’d built over the years.
“Since the union’s start, we have worked on most of these ships,” said Johnson. “Among them have been such illustrious ships as the SS Savannah, the world’s first nuclear-powered passenger-cargo vessel, which heralded the beginning of the atomic age in commercial shipbuilding when it was launched here last July. Others include the battleships Michigan, Oklahoma, Idaho and South Dakota; the giant passenger liners Washington and Manhattan; and the aircraft carriers Saratoga, Independence, Saipan and Bataan.”
Shipbuilding is Boilermaker work. And in the 1920s, Congress saw the need to protect American shipbuilding, which translated into jobs for union members who built ships and for those who transported goods between U.S. ports. And it protected national security.
In 1920, Congress passed the Merchant Marine Act, sponsored by Washington Senator Wesley Jones. Section 27 became known as the Jones Act. It concerned the United States’ need a strong merchant marine for national defense and economic security after World War I. The law established that goods transported between U.S. ports must generally be carried on vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged, U.S.-owned and predominantly crewed by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
From the 1920s through today, the law has become a cornerstone of U.S. maritime policy. Supporters, such as the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, argued the Jones Act protected American shipbuilding, maritime jobs and the nation’s ability to maintain a merchant fleet and trained mariners. Critics argue that requiring domestic cargo vessels to be U.S.-built makes them significantly more expensive and can increase transportation costs.
The Jones Act is once again under fire, this time from the Trump Administration that waived Section 27, first in March again in August. As history shows, it’s imperative to continue the fight to protect it. This fight is not only necessary to protect union jobs—like the jobs our members had when they built the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk—but for national defense as well.
