Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507100031
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BATH, MAINE LENGTH: Medium
Once the province of songs, sonnets and screenplays, copyright law has made what may be its first foray into the gritty world of hard hats, steel fabrication and dry docks.
Bath Iron Works is so happy with an innovative labor contract that captured President Clinton's attention last year that the Navy shipbuilder has taken the unusual step of copyrighting the pact.
The contract encourages workers to become more versatile by paying them to learn new skills and gives the union an equal say in the future of the shipyard.
Clinton highlighted the contract in his Labor Day speech last year at the shipyard on the Kennebec River.
The ``teaming'' concept used at the shipyard has been successful at other companies, such as Harley-Davidson and Xerox. But those companies have not taken the step of having their pacts copyrighted, company officials say.
The copyright was sought because labor and management negotiators wanted to be recognized for the years of work that went into sealing their cooperative relationship, said Kevin Gildart, a shipyard spokesman.
``It's not that we're out to sell something or keep others from using the contract. We just want to control how it's used,'' said David Libby, directing business representative of the local, which represents 5,700 shipbuilders at Bath Iron.
Such an arrangement is unusual, labor lawyers say. ``I am surprised. I've never heard of that before,'' said Rex Hardesty, spokesman for the AFL-CIO. He said most unions are eager to share their contracts.
In the past year, the shipyard and the union have made more than three dozen presentations on the contract to spread the philosophy of cooperation, said David Libby, directing business representative for the union.
The contract is the cornerstone of the Bath shipyard's ambitious plan for breaking into the commercial shipbuilding market to supplement its Navy contracts in an era of defense cutbacks.
The shipyard's employment swelled past 12,000 as the company took the lead role in establishing the Navy's Aegis destroyer program, but cutbacks have sent employment plummeting to 8,500.
The contract seeks to provide job security, keep the company viable and end an adversarial relationship between labor and management.
Gildart said the main reason for seeking the copyright was to codify the pact, but he said those who want to emulate the BIW labor pact must deal directly with the company and the union.
``It's unique to us. If others want to spend some time to learn what it took to get there, then we'll work with you,'' Gildart said. ``If you copy the document, then you've missed the point. It took years to create an environment of trust that fostered the agreement.''
Managers and union leaders say that so far, the contract's impact has exceeded their expectations. About 2,000 workers have participated in voluntary training programs to learn new skills, and productivity has increased.
An example of the level of cooperation is the union's role in attracting a project to the shipyard's Portland dry dock that would keep 450 shipbuilders busy for a month, Dionne said.
Management at first turned down the work because of scheduling conflicts, but the union found a way to accommodate the project, which involves work on an Aegis destroyer, he said.
George Kourpias, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Maryland, said that's the way the contract is supposed to work.
``I can't blame them if they're proud of what happened. We're proud of it,'' he said. ``It was both of us in it together to save the company and to save the jobs. That's what it's all about.''
by CNB