Local 23 is an Alaska-based chapter of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, or SMART. The union filed three charges against JAG Ketchikan in December, January, and March.
“The biggest concern is the deterioration of the pre-existing conditions and benefits that we had negotiated for with the previous operator,” said Local 23 business manager Randy Golding. “With this new operator coming in, all that’s off the table.”
The union filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board, asserting that JAG Ketchikan is not recognizing them or their collective bargaining agreement that was adopted under the previous shipyard operator, Vigor. They allege JAG has made “unilateral changes in terms and conditions of employment” including ending dirty pay, or special pay for work on ship septic systems containing human waste.
William Earnhart is an Anchorage-based attorney representing JAG. He said the company has no legal obligation to recognize the labor union or the collective bargaining agreement.
“JAG is not a successor business. We didn’t go in and just buy them out,” Earnhart said. “So we’re not a successor. We’re hiring more employees. We’re not bound by that contract.”
JAG Marine Group took charge of the Ketchikan shipyard in September. That’s after Alaska’s state development agency, AIDEA, ended a two-decade partnership with the shipyard’s previous operator, Vigor. A 2025 letter from AIDEA cited Vigor’s poor performance.
Luke Rebecchi is a Washington, D.C. based attorney for SMART. He said Local 23 has represented Ketchikan’s shipyard workers since 2022, when the facility operated under Vigor.
Rebecchi said the union negotiated a three-year labor contract with Vigor that guaranteed wage increases and premium-free health insurance benefits, among other things. He said in January, under JAG, health insurance premiums went up by more than 25%.
“We just want to make sure that the members are taken care of, and ultimately, we don’t believe that JAG feels the same about the local membership as we do,” Golding said.
Bergan Wieler is the general manager for JAG Ketchikan. He said the shipyard could have been shuttered if JAG hadn’t taken it over. And he said the shipyard currently offers voluntary, premium-based health insurance plans.
“I, myself, my family, have signed up for it,” Wieler said. “I pay the premiums to ensure that I have the good healthcare that JAG provides to cover my children, and my wife, and myself here in Ketchikan.”
It is unclear when the National Labor Relations Board will decide whether to move forward with Local 23’s charges. Attorney Rebecchi said the board has a backlog of cases that were exacerbated by last fall’s federal government shutdown.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
