Contact: Dwight Kirk, (202) 257-3966, [email protected]

Members of United Steelworkers Local 8888 today decisively ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Huntington Ingalls Industries covering nearly 10,000 shipbuilders at Newport News Shipbuilding.

The union's Tellers Committee announced the results of the mail ballot count early this morning:

YES -- 3,678
NO -- 533

Local 8888 President Charles Spivey, a strong champion of the new contract, praised the overwhelming "Yes" vote. "Our members have spoken -- decisively. They have ratified a contract that broke new ground and enhanced gains from previous negotiations. Now it's time to move this union forward, understanding that a good contract is no better than the members who know what it says and what it means."

The new 5-year (or 60-month) contract will be effective February 7, 2022 and will expire on February 7, 2027. The agreement contains over $22,000 in new money based on a 40-hour week. It also features a first-time $2,000 Essential Pay bonus; a new Domestic Partner benefit; an additional 8 hours of annual leave, and a monthly boost to the pension payment to future retirees.

Members rejected the initial tentative agreement last November. The mail-in ballot used in the second vote more than doubled the number of members who voted in person in November. USW Chief Negotiator Fred Redmond called the mail ballot "a game-changer." Redmond, who is also USW International Vice President for Human Affairs, said, "It engaged thousands more members and allowed their voices to be heard and their votes to be counted. This is a proud union with a new generation emerging in the shipyard. This contract gives them solid footing to flourish."

President Spivey, who has been a Steelworker for more than 40 years and survived two strikes, added, "Essential Shipbuilders are now permanently recognized in writing and we are not going back."

USW Local 8888 represents more than 10,000 workers at the Newport News shipyard.