Core issues now on table for Northrop, union

By Kathy Adams

With less than a month remaining to negotiate, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and the union that represents about 40 percent of its workers are just starting to discuss issues at the core of their new labor contract: wages, health care and pensions.

Negotiations between the Newport News shipyard and United Steelworkers of America Local 8888 began Sept. 3 and have centered so far around noneconomic proposals, including contract language and work conditions, said union spokesman Dwight Kirk. With most of those issues resolved, they began discussing economic proposals last week, he said.

That leaves only a few weeks for them to work out a compromise on wages, health care, pensions, sick leave and other issues before the current contract expires Oct. 26.

"Until you see how things are going to come out with the economic discussions, you don't know if you're going to hit a bump in the road or if that bump in the road may turn into a stone wall," Kirk said. "You don't know until you get there."

Northrop Grumman declined to comment.

Workers are seeking paid sick leave, wage increases and improvements to their pension plan. They also want protection from rising health care costs.

"Retirement, benefits and health insurance is really on our minds," said Brian Ribblett, a 57-year-old welder who has worked at the shipyard for nearly 32 years. "I'm pretty sure that if they don't take care of the retirement part, that the contract could possibly be voted down by a lot of us."

Ribblett said he and his colleagues also want the retirement age lowered to 62. The previous contract raised the full-retirement age to 65 and instituted pension penalties if employees retire early, he said.

"In industrial work, none of us can really last that long," he said, adding that his doctor has said he'll need a knee replacement soon. "We've got hard work down there, and it's not for an old man to be doing."

For the workers, there's a lot on the line and they're getting apprehensive about how negotiations are proceeding, said Ezekiel Stallings, a 44-year-old welder. Some have complained that they're not getting enough information from the union, which represents roughly 8,000 workers.

"We're less than 30 days out before the contract expires," Stallings said. "A lot of people are really curious about what's going on."

Kirk said that it's normal for details to be kept confidential during negotiations but that the union has provided updates through its representatives, fliers and meetings. The previous contract was for four years.

Another major area of concern for some workers is the negotiating format. The contract is being discussed piece by piece instead of as a whole, which compromises bargaining power, argued Claude W. DéBerry, a machinist who has worked for Northrop Grumman for 25 years.

"We are proud shipbuilders, very proud shipbuilders. But in light of what we're hearing about how they're going to the table and their format of the negotiations, we can become angry shipbuilders," said DéBerry, who represents about 300 second-shift employees. "We can't have a beneficial or a just negotiation until we get all the parts."

But union representatives say that looking at the contract in sections is the norm and that nothing will be signed off on until the final contract is on the table.

"The workers are looking to see if the company comes through with a proposal and an agreement that truly reflects the value of their work," Kirk said. "This contract is about whether they can improve their quality of living."

Kathy Adams, (757) 446-2583, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com