For Immediate Release
Contact: Jimmy Hart 202-508-3705
Washington, DC – The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, says it is past time for the Navy to implement the Bartlett Maritime Corporation’s Maritime Plan.
“The Bartlett Maritime Plan is the innovative, actionable solution the U.S. Navy needs to address its ongoing shipbuilding backlog, capacity, and capability,” said James Hart, president of the Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO.
“As the collective bargaining representative for the skilled shipbuilders at the four current U.S. Naval shipbuilding and repair yards, we wholeheartedly support this plan and see it as an opportunity to support the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding goals and bring good-paying, family-sustaining, skilled, union jobs to the Lorain and Lordstown, Ohio, communities.”
On Monday, August 7, the Bartlett Maritime Corporation announced new details of its Bartlett Maritime Plan. A plan, that, if enacted, would provide the U.S. Navy with a ship component overhaul, repair, remanufacturing, and testing facility in Lorain and a rotatable pool and material stocking and kitting facility for the construction of ship components and equipment in Lordstown. Also included in the plan is a supporting Component Repair Center (CRC) to be located in a publicly unspecified location.
According to the statement released by Bartlett, the plan offers the option to provide the U.S. Navy with a fifth Naval Shipyard, “once the CRC facilities are established and the funding and oversight regimes are proven.”
The statement also states that the new Naval Shipyard would be in Charleston, SC. “This new, advanced design shipyard is site-ready at the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek and could begin construction as early as 2024.”
“The Metal Trades Department has backed the Bartlett Maritime Plan from the beginning. We believe it is the critical next step the U.S. Navy must take to address its capacity and capability issues. If we do not act with a sense of urgency to address the current shipbuilding crisis, we risk our nation’s security during an increasingly precarious time,” said President Hart.
