Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said March 12 all five labor union bargain units at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., ratified new collective bargaining agreements running through March 2031.
The company announced the labor agreements in a press release.
Huntington Ingalls Industries subsidiaries are part of major joint ventures doing business in the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex, including the legacy cleanup contractor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Ingalls Shipbuilding specifically would work on the proposed Donald Trump administration battleship design that would carry the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile, which would be tipped by a variant of the W80 warhead that the National Nuclear Security Administration makes.
The agreements include an immediate 18% or higher base wage increase for unionized shipbuilders, which it called the largest single wage increase in the shipyard’s history.
Beyond the immediate wage hikes, the agreement also provides 35-47% wage growth overall through 2031, with company leadership expecting this to improve shipyard recruitment and attrition. Negotiations between company leadership and union representative concluded on Feb. 12, leading to the vote and ratification by the union memberships.
The five bargaining units include members of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Office and Professional Employees International Union, International Association of Machinists, and the United Federation of Special Police and Security Officers.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.