Senate Majority Office 3 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333

House Majority Office 2 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 129th ​ Maine State Legislature

March 26, 2020

Senator Susan Collins Senator Angus King 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building 133 Hart Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

Representative Chellie Pingree Representative Jared Golden 2162 Rayburn HOB 1223 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Collins, Senator King, Representative Pingree, and Representative Golden:

We write today to follow up on the letter we sent you last week concerning the safety of working conditions at Bath Iron Works (BIW) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

First, we thank you for the measures you have taken already to urge the relevant federal actors to provide increased flexibility to defense manufacturing installations in Maine so that those facilities have greater ability to protect the health and safety of their critically important skilled workforce.

Since we last wrote, the situation at BIW in particular has grown only more worrisome. As you know, there has been at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 identified at BIW, and we are deeply concerned about the impact on the shipyard, its employees and the people of Maine generally if an outbreak were to occur there. Workers travel to BIW from every one of Maine’s 16 counties, and the potential ripple effects an outbreak would have in our communities are grave.

We continue to seek additional flexibility from the Navy and Department of Defense for BIW and other similarly situated defense manufacturing installations in Maine so that those facilities may take measures to protect the health and safety of their workforce while continuing to provide for our nation’s defense. This may take the form of contract relief to extend deadlines, the provision of additional paid leave to staff, or other mechanisms to allow Maine’s defense industry workers to remain healthy and able to complete their mission-critical work.

TTY (207) 287-1583 * Message Service 1-800-423-6900 * Web Site: legislature.maine.gov/senate In a letter to BIW management last week, Assistant Secretary Geurts wrote that the Defense Industrial Base - which includes shipyards like BIW - is considered Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience in accordance with the President’s Coronavirus Guidelines. Mr. Geurts also emphasized the need for BIW to continue its work in a timely manner.

We believe this directive fails to give BIW management the latitude it needs to continue its core functions while also protecting worker safety. It also may well prove to be shortsighted if BIW is mandated to continue normal operations and an otherwise preventable outbreak, which ultimately slows production, is the end result.

We ask you to renew your calls for increased flexibility for BIW and Maine’s other defense manufacturing facilities so that they are able to accomplish the equally important missions of providing for the defense of our nation and the health of our people.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Rep. Sara Gideon Sen. Troy Jackson Speaker of the House Senate President

Sen. Nathan Libby Sen. Senate Majority Leader Senate Asst. Majority Leader

Rep. Matt Moonen Rep. Ryan Fecteau House Majority Leader House Asst. Majority Leader

Sen. Shenna Bellows Sen. Brownie Carson Rep. Manchester Harpswell Brunswick

Rep. Thom Harnett Rep. Rep. Allison Hepler Gardiner Nobleboro Woolwich

Rep. Jay McCreight Rep. Sean Paulhus Rep. Denise Tepler Harpswell Bath Topsham

Rep. Ralph Tucker Brunswick

Cc: Governor Janet T. Mills Jon Fitzgerald, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Vice President & General Counsel Jessica Chubbuck-Goodwin, President, Local 7 Chris Wiers, President, Local 6

Senate Majority Office 3 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333

House Majority Office 2 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 129th ​ Maine State Legislature

March 18, 2020

Senator Susan Collins Senator Angus King 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building 133 Hart Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

Representative Chellie Pingree Representative Jared Golden 2162 Rayburn HOB 1223 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

RE: COVID-19, Defense Industrial Base Sector and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works

Dear Senator Collins, Senator King, Representative Pingree, and Representative Golden:

We are writing to express our strong concerns over the Presidential Guidelines to the Defense Industrial Base Sector, including shipyards across America like Bath Iron Works (BIW), during the COVID-19 outbreak. We understand that critical infrastructure in America cannot simply stop during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but private defense contractors like BIW must have flexibility to protect the health and wellbeing of not only their workforce, but also our state.

Each day thousands of men and women flood through the gates of BIW to build the ships our Navy relies on to protect the nation. Protecting their health is vital to ensuring the ships are built and our state’s health system can continue to care for all of those who contract COVID-19. If there were an outbreak at BIW, or any shipyard, it could not only jeopardize the health of the individuals, but also the ability for that facility to continue operations. We understand that they are critical infrastructure, and maintaining that critical infrastructure requires the people who make it possible stay healthy.

At this time, BIW management has been directed by the federal government (see attachment) to maintain normal work operations to meet deadlines, which assume a healthy employee population, and a low risk of community transmission of disease.

TTY (207) 287-1583 * Message Service 1-800-423-6900 * Web Site: legislature.maine.gov/senate

This is no longer a safe or realistic expectation for BIW or any large employer. It will likely result in loss of life and will definitely result in lost productivity.

For this reason, we request that you do all in your power to convince the President, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security to extend deadlines for all ship contractors by at least an additional six months, or by as long as a national emergency declaration remains in place.

By extending deadlines, the Department of Defense can provide BIW management the flexibility to reduce workforce immediately, increasing social distancing and decreasing the risk of community transmission. This will allow workers to avail themselves of temporary unemployment benefits, whether working part-time or staying home to care for family and to remain healthy and ready to return to work when the crisis has passed.

Time is of the essence. A short-term slowdown in work now may delay production, but it will also help prevent a far more significant and lasting slowdown or full production stoppage if a large outbreak occurs. Most importantly, it will ease the burden on our public health system as it faces this crisis.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Sara Gideon Sen. Troy Jackson Speaker of the House Senate President

Sen. Nathan Libby Sen. Eloise Vitelli Senate Majority Leader Senate Asst. Majority Leader

Rep. Matt Moonen Rep. Ryan Fecteau House Majority Leader House Asst. Majority Leader

Rep. Seth Berry Sen. Shenna Bellows Sen. Brownie Carson Bowdoinham Manchester Harpswell

Rep. Mattie Daughtry Rep. Thom Harnett Rep. Chloe Maxmin Brunswick Gardiner Nobleboro

Rep. Allison Hepler Rep. Jay McCreight Rep. Sean Paulhus Woolwich Harpswell Bath

Rep. Denise Tepler Rep. Ralph Tucker Topsham Brunswick