2020 Bath shipbuilders' strike

[4] Shortly after the announcement of the strike, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) James Geurtz said, “my expectation is both sides will work aggressively and with a sense of urgency so we can get these programs [executed].”[5] U.S. Representative Jared Golden and Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden both expressed their support for the strikers.

[8] Several shipyard workers from two other unions that were not on strike showed solidarity with the strikers by taking lunch breaks and vacation time.

[10] On July 7, the company began to temporarily lay off workers from non-striking union Local S7, citing a lack of work caused by the strike.

[12][13] On July 21, Local S6 President Chris Wiers criticized the company for hiring out-of-state contractors from several Southern states that were experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases, such as Alabama and Mississippi.

He alleged that this could lead to higher cases of infection in Bath and argued that BIW should "provide proof of testing with negative results for all out of state subcontractors immediately.”[14] On July 25, President Robert Martinez Jr. of the IAM spoke to strikers outside the union hall, calling for strikers to remain strong and calling the strike "the largest strike in the United States of America right now.”[15] On August 3, union and company representatives held their first meeting since June, where they agreed to points relating to company holidays and merit pay.