PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Hundreds of employees at one of the U.S. Navy’s biggest shipbuilding contractors voted Saturday to approve a contract deal with Bath Iron Works, ending a weeklong strike.
Members of the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement that goes into effect immediately, the shipyard said. That followed an hourslong union meeting at a high school.
“We look forward to working together once again to deliver the Navy’s ships on time to protect our nation and our families,” Bath Iron Works, known for the slogan “Bath built is best built,” said in a statement.
The shipyard and the union negotiated for three weeks without resolving differences before the strike began last Monday, Bath Iron Works spokesperson David Hench said.
He said previously that the shipyard, which has built ships for the Navy for more than a century, “proposed a number of historic wage and benefit options” to bring the union and the company closer together.
The Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association is affiliated with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, which is commonly known as the UAW and is one of the country’s largest unions. The BMDA members at Bath Iron Works are employed as designers, nondestructive test technicians, technical clerks, laboratory technicians and associate engineers, the union said.
Representatives of the Maine AFL-CIO confirmed the ratification vote via text messages to The Associated Press.
The union local said that while not all of its goals were reached, the deal includes improvements that are a win for workers. It did not give specifics of the agreement.
“Establishing not only a better contract foundation for the next negotiation but also developing an engaged and motivated membership; that now has this experience to bring to bear in any future negotiation or organizing activity,” it said in a statement.
The strike began several weeks after a morale-boosting appearance in which U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth touted the need to boost defense manufacturing. It also took place during the U.S. war effort in Iran.
Bath Iron Works is a major shipbuilder for the Navy and was awarded a multiyear contract to make several Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers in 2023. Navy officials call the Arleigh Burke as the “backbone of the Navy’s surface fleet” and last year exercised an option last year to add an additional destroyer to the contract.
The company did not respond to questions about whether the strike slowed production.
The Navy accepted delivery of the future Arleigh Burke-class USS Harvey C. Barnum, Jr., last year, and it is due to be commissioned next month, Hench said.
The shipyard had said on its website that salaried personnel, subcontractors and other employees who elected to come to work could be used to continue business operations during the strike. The shipyard’s total workforce is about 6,800 people, Hench said.
Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, Calif. contributed.
FILE - Striking workers stage picket line outside Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on Monday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi, File)
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s was the unofficial guest of honor at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where hundreds of right-wing activists from around the country hailed him as Republicans’ clear choice for U.S. Senate.
He met with supporters behind closed doors, gave the keynote address at the Ronald Reagan dinner and held court during a private reception where people lined up for handshakes and photos. Audiences cheered for Paxton and booed any mention of Sen. John Cornyn, Paxton's opponent in the May 26 runoff.
If Paxton wins the nomination, it will be because of support from his party's fervent grassroots base. That rock-solid foundation rescued Paxton's political career after he was impeached — but acquitted — for corruption charges by the Texas Legislature three years ago.
“I want you to know, there’s only one reason I got through all that, and it’s by the grace of God,” he said in his Friday night speech as a wave of applause rolled through the hall. “He absolutely delivered me, and he used to people of Texas to deliver me."
Neither Paxton nor Cornyn won enough votes in the March 3 primary to clinch the nomination outright. Although Cornyn has raised far more money and is backed by the party establishment in Washington, Paxton’s well-honed survival skills could lead him to victory.
The winner will face Democrat James Talarico, a state lawmaker, in what will be one of the most closely watched Senate races as Republicans try to retain their grip of Congress.
Cornyn did not attend CPAC, which was held at a resort and convention center near Dallas. Paxton was the overwhelming favorite in CPAC's straw poll, beating Cornyn by more than three to one, and he won the organization's endorsement.
President Donald Trump promised that he would endorse either Paxton or Cornyn weeks ago, but no announcement ever came. Paxton, however, has had no trouble proving his bona fides with the party's right wing.
“The real benefit of Paxton is that he is more an ally of Trump,” said Luke Brown, a 21-year-old college student from Amarillo, Texas. “There’s got to be a change for newer conservatives.
He added that, “I have respect for Cornyn. I just think it’s time for someone more conservative.”
Although Cornyn finished first in the primary, which also included Rep. Wesley Hunt, Paxton swiftly appealed to Trump by embracing legislation known as the SAVE Act, which would mean new, strict proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting. The proposal is a priority for the president, but it has stalled in the Senate because Republican leaders do not want to lift the filibuster.
Paxton said he would consider stepping aside if the legislation passed and accused Cornyn of being a “coward." About a week later, Cornyn reversed his position on the filibuster and wrote in an op-ed that “I support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary.”
Paxton crowed about the shift during his reception on Saturday.
"Unfortunately, John Cornyn has never been focused on this issue until right now, when I called him out on it,” he told supporters.
Cornyn's campaign representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Joe Ropar, a 72-year-old defense contractor who attended CPAC, described Paxton’s ability to preempt Cornyn as “brilliant.”
“Cornyn’s trying to change his stripes now,” Ropar said. “It’s too little too late.”
While Cornyn did not attend CPAC, which was held at a resort and convention center near Dallas, Paxton was extolled by speakers throughout the event.
“Ken Paxton is emblematic of the grassroots of the MAGA movement across the nation,” said Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser who hosts the “War Room” podcast, referring to Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Earlier Friday, CPAC senior fellow Mercedes Schlapp polled the crowd. Asking for a show of support for Paxton, there was a roar of cheers. When she asked about Cornyn, there was a light ripple of boos.
Paxton reminded conservatives here of another connection with Trump: They both have portrayed themselves as the victims of political persecution. While Paxton was impeached and acquitted once, Trump went through the process twice during his first term.
Some conservative Republicans hold other grudges against Cornyn. They remember his early criticism of Trump's proposal for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in 2016, his co-sponsoring of gun control legislation after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, and his dismissive remarks about Trump's comeback campaign in 2024.
Retired music teacher Valerie Burge, 58, said she voted for Cornyn in the primary because of his long service.
“But I'm not sure about the runoff,” she said. “It might be time for something new.”
Barbara Palmer, a 65-year-old lawyer, said Cornyn had simply been in office for too long. He has been a judge, state supreme court justice and state attorney general, and now he wants a fifth term as senator.
“It's just time for a change,” Palmer said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Ronald Reagan dinner during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Ronald Reagan dinner during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Ronald Reagan dinner during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Ronald Reagan dinner during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas walks through the Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
