BAE Shipards
Metal Trades Council
Organized Labor
July 2009
While most workers in the building trades travel to jobsites to construct multi-story buildings, skyscraper-size construction projects travel to the workers at the BAE shipyards. Cruise liners from Alaska to Mexico make their annual voyage to BAE for their physical checkup, and perhaps an occasional propeller replacement or paint job. When they leave the dock’s office they are as good as new. BAE is the largest floating dry-dock on the west coast. They work on everything from historic wooden ferry boats to football stadium-size container ships. The largest boats are the ocean liners. They can hold thousands of passengers, and some are larger than the Empire State Building. The repairs on an ocean liner can take 30,000 man hours, and they need to be completed on a tight schedule. BAE is known for its efficiency and reliability, according to its general manager Hugh Vanderspek. And key to that is a skilled workforce. Vanderspek is proud of both the quality of the work they do and that they do it safely.