SEPTEMBER 29, 2013  — Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) reports that members of the New Orleans Metal Trades Council (NOMTC) and the Metal Trades Department (MTD) approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the company's Avondale subsidiary.

"We are pleased with the ratification of the collective bargaining agreement by members of the Metal Trades Council," said Chris Kastner, HII's corporate vice president and general manager, corporate development. "This collaboration between management and labor is another example of how we continue to work together to provide the best opportunities for our employees and at the same time better position Avondale to compete for future contracts in the commercial market."

The new contract, which will run from Jan. 6, 2014, through Jan. 6, 2019, contains a wage and benefits package designed to be competitive in the commercial industry in which Avondale is pursuing future work.

Union leadership, represented by MTD President Ron Ault, issued a statement, saying, "Avondale, the MTD and the NOMTC are pleased that our negotiated proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement has been ratified by our members. We worked together on this agreement and will support Avondale in its efforts to acquire work in the commercial energy market."

If Huntington Ingalls is not successful in finding work for Avondale in the commercial market, it says, the plan, as announced in 2010, will be to close the facility. It says that Avondale is capable of executing a wide range of commercial industrial projects based on expertise developed through shipbuilding and a history of applying those techniques to other manufacturing projects.