Labor & Employment Law

Navy Saves Avondale Jobs Until 2013

By James Parks

The USS New York, built in the Avondale shipyard, includes 7 tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center. Some 1,200 workers stayed to keep building the ship after Hurricane Katrina hit the shipyard in 2005.

With layoffs set to begin Oct. 4, the more than 5,000 workers at the Avondale Shipyard near New Orleans can breathe a little easier. The U.S. Navy, the shipyard?s biggest customer, has committed to complete the construction at Avondale of two warships currently being built at the yard, which will allow workers to stay on the job until at least until the end of  2013, according to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department  President Ron Ault applauded work by the White House, Landrieu and U.S. Rep. Charles Melancon (D-La.) to convince the  Navy to alter its construction plans and keep Avondale open.

It also shows that the Obama administration is responsive to the economic impact of any loss of  employment in the Gulf Coast region. This buys us some breathing space  to keep Avondale open beyond Northrop Grumman?s scheduled shutdown date and we are very grateful to everyone who helped.

Describing the developments as a ?tremendous boost? for union efforts to keep the  shipyard operating, Ault said that a permanent solution to maintaining shipbuilding in the Gulf Coast will hinge on finding a qualified buyer for Northrop Grumman?s three  shipyards?Avondale, Ingalls in Pascagoula and Newport News in Virginia. Northrop Grumman appears intent on shedding its shipbuilding division, regardless of the future work prospects, hew said.

The Metal Trades Department, along with 10 of its affiliated unions and the AFL-CIO, last month launched a public  campaign to gain community support for the shipyard. Avondale workers joined with the religious leaders and the New Orleans business community to save the shipyard.  Members of the Super-Bowl champion New Orleans Saints also have joined in the ongoing effort, which includes a billboard campaign running across New Orleans.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on September 17, 2010 (boomark / email).