Rebuilding America’s shipbuilding and repair industry will take more than new ships and modern shipyards. It will require investment in American workers, domestic supply chains, advanced technology, and the skilled union workforce that keeps the industry moving.
That message resonated as IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan joined industry leaders, policymakers, and maritime experts at the Hudson Institute’s Fixing Shipping and Shipbuilding: Plotting the Course Ahead symposium.
The event examined the bipartisan SHIPS for America Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), and brought together experts to discuss strengthening America’s commercial shipping and shipbuilding industrial base and rebuilding the nation’s maritime infrastructure and workforce.
Panel discussions focused on the shipyards and companies that will build America’s future fleet, the domestic suppliers needed to support them, investment in the industry, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and preparing the next generation of skilled shipbuilders.
For Sullivan, the discussion hits close to home.
A former IAM Local S6 shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works in Maine, Sullivan knows firsthand what it takes to build ships — and the importance of having skilled workers at the center of that work.
“I’ve spent time on the shipyard floor, so I understand what American shipbuilders bring to this industry every day. If we’re serious about rebuilding our maritime capacity, we have to invest in the people who have the skills to make it happen,” said Sullivan.
The SHIPS for America Act includes provisions aimed at rebuilding the U.S. shipyard industrial base while expanding recruitment, training, and retention of shipyard workers and mariners.
For the IAM, rebuilding the industry also means ensuring workers have a meaningful voice as shipyards adopt new technologies.
Recent negotiations at Bath Iron Works demonstrate the importance of that voice. IAM Local S6’s five-year agreement, ratified in August, includes protections related to artificial intelligence and robotics, safeguards for bargaining-unit work, and greater union involvement in workplace decisions.
As the conversation surrounding the SHIPS for America Act continues, the IAM will keep pressing for investments in American shipyards, domestic manufacturing, and the skilled union workforce needed to build the nation’s maritime future.
“American workers have the skills to build America’s ships,” said Sullivan. “The IAM will keep making sure they have a seat at the table.”
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