The Hill: AFL-CIO slams Northrop for La. shipyard layoffs

[Omaha Steve]

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/122831-afl-cio-slams-northrop-for-la-shipyard-layoffs

By Roxana Tiron - 10/05/10 07:22 PM ET

The nation’s largest labor union is throwing its weight behind Louisiana ship workers in an effort to save thousands of jobs in the battered New Orleans region.

The AFL-CIO is ramping up its efforts just as Northrop Grumman, the owner of the Avondale shipyard, begins its layoffs. The company issued the first round of pink slips to workers on Monday.

The defense giant announced plans in July to close Avondale in early 2013. At the time, the company also indicated it might sell or spin off its entire shipbuilding unit.

Avondale employs about 5,000 workers. Another 6,000 jobs would be indirectly affected.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said his 12 million-member organization is standing behind the shipyard workers. The union is meeting with government officials and prospective buyers of the shipbuilding unit to try and find a solution that will keep the unit on the job.

Trumka warned that the economic impact of shuttering the shipyard “will be many times” that of this year’s BP oil spill.

FULL story at link.