Service & Solidarity Spotlight: IAM Local S6 Members at Bath Iron Works Ratify Historic 5-Year Labor Agreement

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Nearly 4,500 IAM Union (IAM)) Local S6 members at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, voted to ratify a historic collective bargaining agreement that delivers significant wage increases, stronger workplace protections and no concessions. The new five-year agreement takes effect Aug. 24, 2026, and runs through Aug. 24, 2031.

Contract highlights include: zero concessions from the Local S6 membership; general wage increases of 17% in the first year, followed by 4% in each of the remaining four years; increased shift premiums to $2.50 per hour for second- and third-shift employees; locked-in health care costs for the duration of the agreement; improved 401(k) contributions; stronger seniority and job protections, including safeguards addressing outsourcing; greater flexibility for time off and improvements to attendance provisions; stronger protections involving new technology, artificial intelligence and robotics; and additional protections for bargaining-unit work and increased union involvement in workplace decisions.

“As a proud member of Local S6 and a former Bath Iron Works shipbuilder, I know firsthand the skill, determination and solidarity of this membership,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “This historic agreement recognizes the tremendous value our members bring to Bath Iron Works, the state of Maine and our nation’s defense. I congratulate the negotiating committee and every Local S6 member who stood together to secure a stronger future for themselves and their families.”