Sub contract to add up to 1,000 jobs in Newport News

For the Navy, contracting to build eight new Virginia-class attack submarines means protecting national security. For the 20,000 local Northrop Grumman employees who will help build them, the subs mean something else: job security.

"We are very fortunate to have work, full employment, for our members," said Alton Glass Sr., president of United Steelworkers of America Local 8888, the union that represents about 8,000 hourly shipbuilders. "They can continue to pay their bills, make a little overtime, maybe purchase a car or home.... It's all about working and taking care of their families."'

Just before Christmas, the Navy announced that Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Electric Boat would build the next batch of Virginia-class subs for $14 billion.

The award provided some peace of mind for Northrop Grumman's shipbuilders, who may have faced layoffs this year without the additional work, said Glass, a welder who worked in the shipyard for 31 years.

The union signed a new labor agreement with the shipyard in October.

"The workers are upbeat about that contract and the fact that we are working when all over the country you have millions of people losing their jobs," Glass said.

The Navy contract calls for eight subs to be built over 10 years on a reduced budget and construction schedule. The shipbuilders must deliver each boat within 60 months, down from 84 months for earlier subs in the class. Starting in fiscal year 2012, they also must trim costs by 20 percent and deliver each submarine within a $2 billion budget, in 2005 dollars.

Work is already under way.

The shipyard will start cutting steel next month for modules on the 11th sub in the class, the North Dakota, said Becky Stewart, vice president of Northrop Grumman's sub program.

Electric Boat is constructing portions of the North Dakota at its manufacturing facility at Quonset Point in Rhode Island and will do the final assembly at its shipyard in Groton, Conn. Each company builds a portion of each boat and they alternate work on the reactor plant and final assembly, testing, outfitting and delivery.

The Newport News shipyard won't begin construction on its next Virginia-class sub, which the Navy has not yet named, until next year, Stewart said.

"That's a blink of an eye for us to make sure that we have all the facilities and equipment ready in time," she said. "We have many things to do to get ready, but we have been working on many of those things already."

The shipyard's to-do list, Stewart said, includes increasing the number of shipbuilders assigned to its sub division, buying new equipment, expanding its facilities and purchasing building materials.

Over the life of the contract, Northrop Grumman will need to add as many as 1,000 positions to its sub program, either by transferring workers from other divisions or by hiring new people, she said. That process will begin in 2011.

The company also is placing orders for new equipment and building materials, she said.

It can't afford to waste time. Missing the Navy's deadline or budget will result in penalties for the contractors. Delivering a boat early or under budget will yield a reward.

Though the last two subs completed in Newport News - the Texas and North Carolina - missed their projected delivery dates and exceeded their budgets, those experiences prepared the shipyard for meeting the new contract's expectations, Stewart said.

"The first ships took longer to get done because they were new, you were working out any issues that you have with them," she said. "You really come down the learning curve, the cost curve and the schedule curve."

The New Mexico, which the shipyard plans to complete in August, is on budget and eight months ahead of schedule, she said.

With each sub, Northrop Grumman, Electric Boat and the Navy have found ways to cut time and costs by adjusting the design, using new tools and improving construction processes, Stewart said. Building multiple ships at once will also help reduce materials costs because the company will be able to order in bulk.

The work is a boost for the city of Newport News, said Florence Kingston, the city's development director.

"It does mean adding new jobs, from the city of Newport News' perspective," she said. "Also, it will be an increase in the tax base of the city."

But most important: "It does a lot for the confidence of all the

employees that work at the yard."

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