FUSE Wins $600,000 Bonus Pay Case Against NUWC Newport

Dec. 31, 2015 - Newport, RI

It took 2 1/2 years, hundreds of hours of work, and over $75K in arbitration and attorney's fees, but FUSE/NAGE Local R1-144 didn't give up on their effort to recoup over $600K in bonuses for 1,025 FUSE/NAGE members.  The Union proved beyond any doubt that the contract they negotiated with NUWC Newport was legally binding and enforceable despite the Navy's claim that it wasn't.  More importantly, the Union also proved that higher levels of Navy management (in this case the Assistant Secretary of the Navy) cannot simply declare contracts between lower levels of the Navy (in this case NUWC Newport management) and Local Unions null and void years after they were signed simply because the Navy didn't follow their own procedures and didn't like the outcome.  We are very happy that we were able to defeat the Navy's massive effort to cheat our members out of their hard-earned bonuses, and we will continue to fight for their right to fair treatment.