The Trump administration has terminated union contracts with two unions at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The administration says they are cutting the legs out from under federal workers and denying them the right to union representation in the interest of national security, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Alana Schaeffer, president of the Portsmouth Metal Trades Council, whose union is currently shielded by a court injunction, knows the true story: this action hurts national security. As Schaeffer put it: “our workers don’t know if they’re going to wake up tomorrow and they’re going to have also lost their rights.” That level of instability and uncertainty impacts job performance and workplace safety.

Paul O’Connor and Carleigh share a passion and a history of working to promote collaboration, respect, and dignity at the jobsite. Whether it is for the graduate student workers who power institutions of higher learning or the men and women who build and maintain the US Navyʼs submarine fleet, leadership means working together to overcome fear, cliques, and partisanship, and build sustainable coalitions around our shared values.