Bath Iron Works

The new Pier Support Center, adjacent to where BIW's first Flight III destroyer is being completed was built to house mechanic space for trades heavily involved in waterborne construction.

The agreement includes compounding wage growth of 28% over the four-year contract, up from the 23.8% the shipyard initially proposed.

“General Dynamics continues to make record profits off our labor…” said a labor representative. The shipyard said the proposed contract “includes historic annual wage increases…”

“This free training program has proven itself to be extremely effective at giving people the foundational skills they need to take on challenging and rewarding careers in shipbuilding,” said BIW’s director of training.

Continuous learning is now a core retention strategy, not just an extra perk. But employers need to offer opportunities to learn and grow, career coach Holly Smevog writes.

Maine’s new benefits law will give employees the option of taking up to 12 weeks of paid time off at up to 90% of their compensation rate. The plan is the most generous in the country, but employers, large and small, see challenges.

As employers engage with AI, it’s equally important to think about employee perspectives, as those with the best sense what AI actually looks like on the ground.

Bath Iron Works has 6,700 workers and a payroll of $447 million, but housing is in short supply in the Bath area.

The facilities inside the industrial park consist of a Maritime Industrial Workforce Training Center affiliated with the Maine Maritime Academy and a SpaceTech facility that's part of the Maine Space Corp.

Now in its fourth year, the Mainebiz 40 Under 40 program recognizes the state's up-and-coming leaders, the next generation of individuals who are shaping Maine and its economy.