WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King issued the following statement today following approval of the new labor contract between Bath Iron Works and the Local S6 Machinists Union:

“The ratification of the labor contract required collaboration, hard work, and compromise by all parties. This represents a significant achievement and will put BIW on a viable track moving forward as they work as a team to fulfill critical Navy requirements.

“Bath Iron Works and its highly-skilled workers are national strategic assets essential to our country’s defense and to our state’s economy. Simply put, there is no workforce better able to build the Zumwalt and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers than the men and women of BIW. We have secured funding for the construction of the DDG-1000s and the DDG-51s, and we remain strong advocates for BIW’s opportunity to compete for the construction of the Coast Guard’s new Offshore Patrol Cutters, which would diversify BIW’s workload, and make the yard more competitive for future Arleigh Burke destroyer contracts.”

Senator Collins is a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Senator King is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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