The largest union at Bath Iron Works is suing over an arbitration decision allowing the shipyard to outsource some work to subcontractors.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court accuses of the arbitrator of being biased in favor of the shipyard after being shut out of hearing such cases for six years because a ruling that favored the union had angered shipyard officials.
The union’s grievance was rejected in February.
Shipyard spokesman Matt Wickenheiser said Friday that the arbitrator’s ruling was proper.
“The award affirms BIW’s right to buy ship components instead of building them if that helps to make BIW more competitive,” Wickenheiser said in a written statement. “Because this is a standard business practice throughout the industry, it is extremely important to be on equal footing as BIW works to compete successfully for new shipbuilding contracts.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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