IAM Local S7 Ratifies BIW Contract with Solid Pay Raises & Better Benefits

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local S7 voted overwhelmingly Sunday to ratify a new three-year contract with Bath Iron Works that includes substantial pay increases and better benefits. "The success of these negotiations was due in large part to the hard work and dedication of the Local S7 negotiating committee, the solidarity of the hardworking members of Local S7,  and the support and leadership from Machinists District 4,” said Jessica Chubbuck-Goodwin President of Local S7.Under the new contract, the 205 clerical and administrative workers in Local S7 will receive:

• 3 percent pay raises each year for the duration of the contract.
• An increase in accident and sickness benefits from $250 a week to 50 percent of a member’s gross pay. (For example: workers earning $1,200 a week will now get $600 a week instead of $250 when they are sick or injured outside of work.)
• An increase to $72,000 a year for members who reach the high end of the pay scale.

The contract also moves several members to one trade, where they will receive an automatic $2 per hour raise in addition to their 3 percent annual wage increase. The bargaining team also credits the successful, nine-week strike of 4,300 IAMAW Local S6 members at the shipyard last summer for the willingness of BIW management to quickly negotiate a fair contract with Local S7 members. “There is no question that the company didn’t want to mess around this time. We are glad to see that Bath Iron Works came in and negotiated an honest and fair contract for Local 7 this time,” said labor representative George Edwards of IAM District Lodge 4. “This contract is proof that when workers stick together and collectively demand to be treated and paid fairly, they win much better wages and working conditions than if they tried to go it alone.”