BMDA Members Discuss Struggles with the Cost of Living & Pride in Their Work

The Maine AFL-CIO met with striking members of the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association last week for a communications training on how to effectively use their voices to speak to the media and inform the public about why they made the difficult decision to strike. We made a series of videos of members discussing their struggles to keep up with the soaring cost of living on their wages. The only other time BMDA has gone on strike was in 1967. But years of inflation have eroded their wages and left them with no other option but to withhold their labor.

Many younger members expressed frustration that they are unable to afford a house on their wages with a median home price in Maine hovering at about $400,000. Lower than average wages and a severe affordable housing shortage is threatening the ability of working-class people to live in their communities, especially on the coast of Maine. As a result, BIW workers are seeking cheaper housing further away. But with the cost of fuel skyrocketing due to the war in Iran, workers are being forced to make difficult choices. Some are even living in their cars. BMDA member Ryan Ashey, a first-year electrical designer, said he returned to Maine to work at the shipyard, but is finding it hard to get by.

“The company’s current offer just isn’t enough. We’re struggling to pay for housing, put gas in the car and care for our loved ones,” he said. “The wage proposals may look good, but we have been underpaid for decades, earning between $10,000 and $20,000 below the national average for similarly skilled jobs. We want to be able to put a down payment on a house, raise our families here and continue the tradition of building these amazing ships for generations to come.”

Low wages have also made it difficult to recruit and retain skilled workers. Out of 280 of BIW’s new hires between 2022 and 2025, only 28 of the employees stayed with the company. 154 resigned, including 65 to seek other employment. Ashey said he could take the advice of anti-union trolls on social media and “just find another job,” but he doesn’t want to do that.

“I could earn double what I’m earning now by working from home designing dish washers, but I’ve got immense pride in designing the safety systems to keep the men and women of the U.S. Navy safe,” he said. “I hope the company realizes just how important we are and gives us a fair contract.”

The union was organized in 1938 on the eve of World War II. It was originally an independent union affiliated with the National Council of Marine Draftsmen. After Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, BMDA was the first union in Maine to send a telegram to President Franklin D. Roosevelt pledging “our very best efforts to assist you in seeing this war through a decisive victory.” 4251 BIW employees served in the armed forces in World War II and 62 made the supreme sacrifice.

BMDA members on the picket line last week expressed a strong sense of patriotism and pride in their work. Zac Reed, a lead intake-uptake designer who lives just up the hill from the shipyard, pointed to the iconic sign at the entrance of the shipyard that says, "Through these gates pass the best shipbuilders in the world."

“I have two sons and every time a ship leaves down the river, we go down and stand on the dock and watch those ships go by. The boys know that their dad helped design and build those ships,” he said. “It’s incredibly rewarding and I’m so proud of the work we do.”

Reed said he bought his home 15 years ago while earning just $10 an hour working for FedEx. Now, he says there’s no way he could afford to purchase his own house.

Many BMDA members have parents, grandparents and other relatives who worked at BIW. Some of the names of those workers are on a memorial plaque near the shipyard. Katy Gatchell, an electrical designer and instructor, says her father was deployed in the Navy on a Bath-built ship and worked on the very systems that she is updating and designing today.

“I am a proud, born-and-raised Mainer with Navy in my blood. When I get to walk out on these ships with my father and show him everything that I have helped do, it just brings us so much pride and so much closer together,” she said, choking up with emotion. “And I want to keep that going for years. I want to get back to work, but I also feel that we should be compensated for the work that we do.”

Electrical designer Topher Whitman says his family has some medical issues and have been struggling to pay their bills, but sees his job as a calling to serve his country.

“My dad served in the Air Force and while in the military he ended up getting a disease that he died from a few years ago,” he said, also growing emotional. “By working at BIW, this is my way of giving back to our nation and following in his footsteps.”

BMDA member Adam Martin, a desktop publisher and designer said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, who served as an Army medic in the Korean War, but couldn’t get into the military due to physical issues.

“Although I couldn’t get into the military, I found a way to serve by working at BIW to actually serve my country in the way I can by building Navy ships and keeping servicemen safe,” he said. “Right now, we just want to go back to work and be paid a fair wage and do what we do best – working on these wonderful ships.”