Bartlett Maritime to Expand Rotational Workforce Program
Bartlett Maritime Corporation (BMC), a Cleveland-based company dedicated to building capability and capacity in the U.S. Navy’s submarine industrial base, has been awarded a contract to expand its rotational workforce of skilled trades workers supporting Navy shipbuilding and repair projects.
The contract was finalized on May 15, 2026, in support of the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) Program Office initiatives. The contract calls for BMC to recruit and prepare 300 skilled trades workers for deployment at U.S. public and private shipyards and repair yards over a 10-month period, with an option for an additional 100 workers. The award expands BMC’s pilot rotational workforce program, launched in 2024, into a full-scale, multi-trade workforce development program.
“Bartlett Maritime is excited to continue working with national labor organizations to further grow America’s ability to build and maintain our submarine force,” said BMC Founder and CEO Edward L. Bartlett, Jr. “The needs of America’s Navy go beyond any one region, so we have to bring experienced skilled trades workers from across America to succeed in this mission.”
High-demand trades across the submarine industrial base include welders, electricians, pipefitters, machinists and sheet metal workers. Bartlett Maritime has worked closely with labor unions representing those trades to develop the rotational workforce program.
“During the RWP pilot program, we had a national labor agreement with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers that helped us send experienced welders into shipyards that needed them,” said Bartlett. “As we expand the skill sets of the RWP, we are committed to our already strong collaboration with the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department and the various unions to develop the workforce the Navy and the nation needs.”
BMC also has labor agreements with the United Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers labor unions. BMC is working to extend those agreements and add agreements with additional trade organizations.
The rotational workforce program is one part of Bartlett Maritime’s broader effort to support the submarine industrial base. “Our company was founded and continues to be led by experienced submariners and shipbuilders,” Bartlett said. “We have a keen sense of urgency to help get our Navy’s Sailors to sea in the world’s most capable boats. We know we can provide the Navy affordable, effective industrial capabilities at speed to help do just that.”
About the Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) Program Office: The Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) Program Office leads the U.S. Navy’s effort to strengthen the national industrial base that designs, builds, and sustains America’s submarine fleet. To support the delivery of one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines annually, the industrial base must expand capacity, increase capability, and grow the skilled workforce needed for submarine construction and sustainment. The SIB Program Office helps close that gap through coordinated efforts in supply chain, advanced manufacturing, and workforce development. Together, these lines of effort reinforce one another and help accelerate submarine production.