BATH, Maine (AP) — The futuristic USS Zumwalt has joined the Navy in a high-profile ceremony, and another destroyer has headed out to sea for the first time.
Both are successes for shipbuilder Bath Iron Works in Maine, but many shipbuilders aren't in the mood for celebrating. The president of the yard's biggest union says workers worry about future job cuts.
Shipbuilders approved concessions last December in hopes of winning a Coast Guard contract to preserve up to 1,200 jobs, but the shipyard was underbid.
Next year, the shipyard will bid on a 10-ship Navy contract that could provide additional stability for the company, one of Maine's biggest employers.
The future USS Rafael Peralta went to sea for the first time Monday, two days after the Zumwalt was commissioned into service in Baltimore.