Union leader questions Navy decision
The suspended leader of Bath Iron Work's largest union called for a review of the Navy's awarding process after last week's news that the Bath shipyard had been passed over for a $1.6 billion contract with the U.S.
In a letter to Maine's congressional delegation, Local S6's Mike Keenan expressed his "great concern for the bidding process" and asked Maine's congressional delegation to investigate whether "it was a fair competition." The Navy on Thursday awarded Austral USA, an Australian company with a facility in Mobile, Ala., the contract to build 10 high-speed military transport ships. BIW was one of two other shipyards competing for the contract, according to the Associated Press.
But Keenan questioned the decision, saying that the Bath shipyard is "the only shipbuilder on cost and on schedule" and citing his concern that "cost, quality, craftsmanship and the proven ability to build anything designed to float is not taken into consideration when contracts are awarded," according to the letter. Keenan has been suspended since March of this year over allegations of union financial mismanagement.
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