New Navy ships are years behind schedule, because manufacturers can’t find workers to build them

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Charles Spivey came to Newport News, Virginia from North Carolina 40 years ago to work in the shipbuilding industry. For the last six years, he’s been president of United Steelworkers Local 8888. Their roughly 12,000 shipbuilders work for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII)

“There’s only one company in the world that can produce a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and that’s right here in the city where we do it,” he said.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro recently announced most of the Navy’s new ships are one to three years behind schedule, including the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the first Columbia-class submarines, and the next round of Virginia-class submarines produced in Newport News. Shipyards around the country have similar backlogs.