The State : Shipbuilders Reach Pact

Six labor unions and the National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. in San Diego have reached agreement on a tentative contract, ending a three-week strike. Under the proposed contract, workers will still earn less than they did 12 months ago. The proposed 49-month contract calls for journeymen to receive $11.40 an hour, followed by two hourly pay increases of 25 cents each in the final two years of the agreement. Unskilled workers would be paid $7 an hour upon ratification. The proposal also calls for cost-of-living increases that could reach $1.20 an hour. Union leaders said they will recommend ratification to the company’s 1,000 union members. The company, the only privately owned shipyard on the West Coast that is not in bankruptcy, reported $20 million in losses for the second quarter of 1988.