BAE Shipards
Metal Trades Council
Organized Labor
July 2009
The union’s representing BAE workers are part of the Bay Area Metal Trades Council. The Bay Area council is affiliated with the Pacific Coast Metal Trades District Council, which is part of the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department, founded in 1908. On a national level, the Metal Trades Department represents 20 affiliated unions, with 5 million members. On the Jobsite photographed workers repairing the Carnival Spirit cruise ship, which weighs 88,000 tons, is 960 feet in length, and holds 2,000 passengers. The shipyard employs about 175 union workers on a given day, including members of Industrial Carpenters 2236, Sheet Metal Workers 104, Operating Engineers 3, Plumbers 38, Electricians 6, Teamsters 85, Pipefitters 38, Painters 1176, Boilermakers 6, Machinist 1414, and Laborers 886. The shipyard, at the foot of 20th Street, is one of the last remaining businesses that were once part of Pier 70, San Francisco’s once thriving industrial area, soon to be redeveloped.