BAE Systems workers to strike at US ground vehicle factory

BAE Systems builds the Amphibious Combat Vehicle in York, Pennsylvania. (US Marine Corps)

About 800 unionised workers who build tracked and wheeled military vehicles at a BAE Systems plant in York, Pennsylvania, plan to go on strike on 31 August at 1100 h local time amid a stalemate in contract negotiations, according to the United Steelworkers (USW) labour union.

The employees, who have been without a contract since October 2021, have not received a satisfactory offer from BAE Systems for a new contract, the USW said on 29 August. “We are not willing to accept a substandard contract simply because the company calls it a ‘final offer',” USW District 10 director Bernie Hall said in a statement.

BAE Systems spokesperson Alicia Gray said in a statement on 30 August that the company has put forward “three reasonable and competitive offers, with our latest proposal turned down”. Asked whether a strike would force the factory to shut down, Gray replied that “we have a plan in place to continue to execute our mission”.

The York facility manufactures the Amphibious Combat Vehicle, M88 Recovery Vehicle, and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, as well as the M109A7 self-propelled howitzer and its companion ammunition carrier vehicle. It also performs final integration of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.