The U.S. Navy needs more from the American Shipbuilding Industry, which depends on Skilled Workers. Recent contract wins by Shipbuilding Unions in the States of California and Maine are delivering better pay, better benefits and more structured approaches to the introduction of new technologies into shipyards.

Shipbuilders and Union Leaders told Business Insider the improvements would help attract and retain Skilled Workers as the Navy and Industry race to rebuild and revive America's shipbuilding capacity.

"I think overall, it'll bring the Industry back to where it needs to be," International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Eastern Territory Coordinator George Edwards said, adding the new contracts between the Workers' Unions and Shipbuilding Companies have "set the trend for where you're going to see things going in the next couple years in shipbuilding."

IAM Union Members at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, which specializes in building auxiliary vessels for the Navy, ratified a three-year agreement that delivers wage increases, improvements to retirement benefits, floating time off and Worker protections.

More than 800 Workers will receive a 10% wage increase in the first year, followed by 5% in the second and 4% in the third.

More money helps Workers grappling with the rising cost of living in San Diego, which is nearly 50% higher than the national average.

"It's also helping the company minimize the turnover," IAM Western Territory General Vice President Robert Martinez explained, by reducing "losses of Skilled Workers to other shipyards because they weren't paying as competitively."

The successful negotiation came on the heels of a similar contract win in Bath, Maine where more than 4,500 Workers at Bath Iron Works ratified a contract giving them a 17% wage increase in the first year and a 4% bump in the following four years, as well as stronger retirement benefits.

Across the U.S., shipyards have lost Employees due to pay and working conditions.

The attrition rates have been especially high among Workers early in their careers, as shipbuilders lose talent to competitors - both inside and outside the industry - that offer better pay or benefits or a less demanding environment.

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