These are jobs families count on. To pay mortgages.
To put food on the table. For medical insurance.
These are the jobs the community and the local economy count on. To bring customers to the grocery store, the corner gas station and family-owned restaurants and businesses.
On Nov. 25, 2025, the U.S. Navy cancelled the Constellation-class frigate program. These are the ships union Boilermakers have been building at Fincantieri Marinette Marine and Bay Shipbuilding in Wisconsin.
More than 1,200 good-paying jobs are at stake.
We want to keep working, but it’s not up to us.
It’s up to what our elected representatives, the U.S. President and the U.S. Navy decide for the national defense budget.
We need Congress to hear loud and clear that we want to keep our shipbuilding jobs in Wisconsin, so let’s bring our voices together.
Send an email, make a phone call or write a letter. Then share this link with your friends.
We’ve made it easy for you to get involved. Check out our toolkit for sample letters, scripts and one-click action links.
Congress passed the FY2026 defense spending bill, and President Trump signed it into law on February 3, 2026. It includes $800 million for the Medium Landing Ship program. The Navy has directed Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build four of those ships, with additional work going to Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana.
There is no construction start date yet. The next critical step is the selection of a Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) – a private contractor the Navy hires to oversee the program and manage both yards. That award is expected mid-2026. Construction begins after the VCM is in place and formal contracts are signed.
The next fight: FY2027
This spring, Congress begins work on the FY2027 defense budget – and that’s where we push for more ships, more contracts, and long-term work for our yards. The signals are promising. But none of it becomes real without pressure from the people who do the work.
Every email, letter, call, and video you send builds the case that Wisconsin shipbuilders are essential to America’s national defense – and that we will not settle for short-term patches.
We want to be clear: the formal shipbuilding contracts have not been signed yet. This is directed work – real and public – but it is not final until ink is on paper.
We want to thank Senator Tammy Baldwin, who fought hard to secure this funding. She said it plainly: “I am proud to have secured funding and commitments from the Navy to stave off some of the worst for Wisconsin workers and companies – but we are still not made whole.”
That says it all. Senator Baldwin got us this far. Now we keep fighting.
A win – but not enough.
This is a start. It buys time. It is not a long-term solution, and our workers deserve more than a bridge to the next fight.
