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14 December, 2000Avondale shipbuilding workers have approved the terms of their first union contract.
USA: After more than seven years of struggle, employees at the Avondale shipyard, in New Orleans, Louisiana, have got their first agreement with the company's new owner, Litton Industries.
The 45-month agreement, negotiated by the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, provides an immediate 3 per cent wage hike in January as part of an overall 9 per cent increase in wages. It also sets up a series of joint labour management committees to address ongoing concerns of the Avondale workforce, including a joint Safety and Health Committee. The parties pledges to continue negotiating for a reformed health insurance programme which will reduce employee health care costs with no reduction in benefits.
The Metal Trades Department won union recognition for Avondale's workers in August 1999. For more than 50 years, Avondale was the only major non-union shipyard in the U.S. "We are proud that we were able to open a new era for Avondale's workers in which they will enjoy the benefits of a unionised workplace and a long overdue sense of dignity and respect," declared John Meese, president of the national Metal Trades Council.
The company's 1,500 Metal Trades-represented workers approved the agreement by a four-to-one margin. It will be formally signed on December 19 in New Orleans.
The 45-month agreement, negotiated by the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, provides an immediate 3 per cent wage hike in January as part of an overall 9 per cent increase in wages. It also sets up a series of joint labour management committees to address ongoing concerns of the Avondale workforce, including a joint Safety and Health Committee. The parties pledges to continue negotiating for a reformed health insurance programme which will reduce employee health care costs with no reduction in benefits.
The Metal Trades Department won union recognition for Avondale's workers in August 1999. For more than 50 years, Avondale was the only major non-union shipyard in the U.S. "We are proud that we were able to open a new era for Avondale's workers in which they will enjoy the benefits of a unionised workplace and a long overdue sense of dignity and respect," declared John Meese, president of the national Metal Trades Council.
The company's 1,500 Metal Trades-represented workers approved the agreement by a four-to-one margin. It will be formally signed on December 19 in New Orleans.