Shipyard Workers Rally Against Sequestration

Sequestration will not just hurt the more than 5,000 men and women who work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, it will have a negative economic impact well beyond the region, according to speakers at a Portsmouth rally Thursday.

Shipyard workers, members of the New Hampshire and Maine chapters of the AFL-CIO, federal employees and social services providers gathered Thursday for the rally at Prescott Park.

Paul O'Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council at the shipyard, said 6,000 people who work at the Kittery, Maine, facility will be served notices on Friday that they will begin 22 weeks of one-day furloughs beginning at the end of April that will cost each of them one month's pay and amount to a 20 percent pay cut.

O'Connor said this pay cut translate into less money that will be spent in the Portsmouth area's economy at movie theaters, stores, restaurants, doctor's offices and car dealerships. He said families will now struggle to make ends meet and pay their monthly bills. Small businesses and vendors who provide services to the shipyard will also feel the brunt of the sequestration that went into effect on March 4 after President Obama and members of Congress could not reach a deal to stop it.

O'Connor said the Navy's submarine maintenance program will also suffer because work to overhaul submarines in the shipyard's drydocks, which are full for the next 10 years, will be delayed. This will force the shipyard to pay workers overtime, which will be costly for taxpayers.

"We didn't cause the financial meltdown, but we sure as hell are being forced to bear the full impact. I think enough is enough," O'Connor said.

He called on his fellow shipyard union members and other union members who were present to stand together to effect change in Washington the way shipyard workers rallied against the Department of Defense when the federal government threatened to shut down the facility during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round. "We were right. We stood side by side and we prevailed," O'Connor said. "We are union!"

Patte Ardizzoni, administrator of the Rockingham County Community Action Program, said sequestration will mean less money for programs such as Meals on Wheels, food pantries, Head Start and Women, Infants and Children. When shipyard workers and other federal employees earn less money, they will not be able to donate as much money to support social services programs that help the needy, she said.

"Please understand. It is going to impact every single person," she said.

John Joyal, a shipyard worker for 37 years who lives in Somersworth, told the dozens of fellow shipyard workers, union members and federal employees the work done at the shipyard is a matter of national security. "The 129 submariners go out to sea are in the palm of our hands. We're not fighting one another, we're fight for each other," Joyal said.

Mark MacKenzie, president of the New Hampshire chapter of the AFL-CIO, which has 35,000 members, said the labor movement is once again being called to action to fight for liberty and justice for hardworking men and women.

"It's is time for the Congress of the United States of America to stop playing games with the lives of working men and women in this country," MacKenzie said. "People have had enough."

MacKenzie added that nationwide, the labor movement will come together to work for change in Washington. He said the rally at Prescott Park on Thursday was a whisper that will eventually turn into a roar that will be heard in the nation's capital.

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) issued the following statement on the rally:

“I stand with local workers and businesses in opposition to sequestration’s irresponsible and reckless cuts. I cannot understand why the House majority repeatedly blocked a vote on legislation that would have stopped sequestration for calendar year 2013. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is critical for both our national defense and local economy, and I will continue to support efforts to cancel sequestration.”