Shipbuilders union debate new contract as vote nears

HAMPTON

Thousands of Newport News shipbuilders will vote Wednesday on whether to accept a proposed labor contract with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding.

After nearly two months of waiting since negotiations began between the company and United Steelworkers of America Local 8888, hundreds of workers turned out at Hampton University's Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon to receive copies of the proposal. They now have about two days to mull over the agreement and decide how to cast their vote.

Workers expressed mixed reactions Sunday.

On the one hand, the contract offers a 16.4 percent wage increase over four years, increases monthly pension payments to retirees and, for the first time, provides paid personal and sick leave.

On the other hand, it allows the company to transfer workers among shipyards and carries some increases in medical premiums.

"I think the union did the best of their ability to get us what we deserve," said Dewitt Holzenborf, a sheet metal worker. "All the major points for me were hit."

"The company has two carriers they're trying to get out," said Robert Daul, an electrician who's worked for the shipyard for 26 years. "And we don't want to go on strike because the country's in a recession. So you have to give and take a little bit."

But some disapproved.

"They're very disappointed," said Claude W. DéBerry, a machinist who's worked at the shipyard for 25 years. The wage increases will barely cover rising benefits costs, inflation and the cost of living, he said.

But in light of today's economic uncertainty, the proposed contract is a victory, said Fred Redmond, the union's chief negotiator.

"In any good negotiation the union doesn't get everything that they want and the company doesn't get everything that they want," he said. "We negotiated the best contract that we can."

Officials with the union and Northrop Grumman have said they hope the union's members will approve the agreement.

It "is very fair," Jennifer Dellapenta, a company spokeswoman, said in a statement. And it "still provides us with the flexibility we need to operate in a very competitive business environment."

A major win for the union rewards workers who retire with more than 30 years of service. For every year over 30, they'll get $20 extra in their monthly pension payment, the proposal says.

For the first time, the workers will also have paid sick and personal leave, but it's limited to six hours per calendar quarter.

Workers expressed concern with a provision that allows Northrop Grumman to transfer them to its other shipyards for up to five months. However, the agreement includes safeguards, such as requiring the company to pay for travel and living expenses and prohibiting mandatory transfers except during emergencies, Redmond said.

Though 6,000 dues-paying members are eligible to cast a ballot, the contract will affect 8,000 shipyard workers. If ratified, the contract will go through March 10, 2013.

The 2004 contract expired Sunday, but the workers will continue operating under its terms until a new agreement is ratified, Dwight Kirk, a union spokesman, said.

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