Labour concerns at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Lawmakers are striving to keep worker protections alive at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Source: US Navy)
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has urged the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed federal personnel rule, arguing that it could undermine recruitment and retention efforts at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and affect the facility's ability to support the US Navy's submarine fleet.
The proposed regulation, titled Promoting Employee Accountability, would shorten the time available for agencies to address performance and misconduct issues, introducing a 30-day improvement period and making dismissal the default outcome in certain cases. It would also require employees to respond to proposed disciplinary action within seven to ten days.
In a joint letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Merit Systems Protection Board, senators Angus King, Susan Collins, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, together with representatives Chellie Pingree, Maggie Goodlander and Chris Pappas, warned that the changes could make federal employment less attractive at a time when the shipyard, like others across the USA, is seeking to expand its workforce.
The lawmakers argued that reducing procedural protections could lead to the loss of experienced personnel and weaken efforts to recruit skilled tradespeople and engineers. According to the letter, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard needs to hire more than 700 additional workers to meet future naval requirements.
"The shortened window, coupled with termination as the default, could result in the loss of skilled workers who could have improved their performance if given sufficient time," the lawmakers wrote.
The proposal has also drawn criticism from labour representatives, including the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 4, which represents many shipyard employees. The union said the changes could reduce due-process protections and discourage workers from raising workplace concerns.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, is one of the US Navy's principal facilities for submarine maintenance, repair and modernisation work.
