The announcement this past week that Bath Iron Works had lost its bid to build the Coast Guard’s new cutters was sobering news, not only for the Midcoast area, but for the entire state. BIW is Maine’s largest shipbuilding company, with well over 5,000 employees, and unless some miracle happens, as many as 1200 men and women stand to lose their jobs in the coming months.

The Boothbay/Wiscasset area is heavily dependent upon these jobs, and has been for many years. You’d be hard-pressed to find a family without at least one relative employed at the yard. They’re good-paying jobs with generous benefits which many private employers can’t afford to match.

Many of BIW’s employees drive a great distance to and from their homes every day, and have for a long time, because they can’t find an employer closer to home offering the same pay. We were somewhat taken aback to learn a few years ago just how far some of the employees do travel. It makes for a very long work day for northern Maine residents. Some opt to rent a room Monday night thru Thursday night if they don’t want to make the long daily trip.

Shipbuilding plays a key role in Maine’s economy, with Bath Iron Works leading the way. Nationally, only Louisiana and Virginia have a similar dependence on shipbuilding jobs. In fact, Louisiana has always been a major competitor when it came to bids on Navy contracts. This time around, with the new Coast Guard cutters slated for construction, it was a Florida yard that outbid us.

We’ll all be keeping our fingers crossed that another contract may be in the offing for BIW to help us avoid seeing so many laid-off employees scrambling for similar paying jobs. Unfortunately, a lot of them will have to take a serious cut in pay.   Many of us remember full well how much it hurt our economy in years past when our own local shipyards were having hard times and what a great feeling it was when we once again saw the constant flow of traffic early in the morning and again at quitting time.

Our entire area depends upon the success of Bath Iron Works. We’ll all be hoping something else comes their way soon and they can avoid layoffs. The yard’s skilled workers have earned a great reputation for producing top-notch ships and we hope they get to stay right where they are.