In new ads, BIW workers say Sen. Collins doesn't have their back

Two new digital ads released on Wednesday feature workers calling out Sen. Susan Collins for taking campaign contributions from Bath Iron Works chief competitor, Huntington Ingalls Industries, the U.S.’s largest military shipbuilding company based in Virginia.

“She’s taking more money from lobbyists and from our rivals than I make in a year,” said John Portela, a sandblaster with Bath Iron Works for over 30 years, in one of the ads. “We expect our representatives and our senators to be advocating pursuing work for Bath Iron Works. Not just for the company, but for the workers, the thousands or workers and their families that are employed here on the banks of Kennebec River.”

The ads were funded by the Be A Hero Fund, which, in the lead up to and after Collins’ vote to confirm U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, helped organize the crowdfunding campaign that raised over $3.8 million for her future Democratic opponent.

The ad campaign highlights Collins’ attendance last year of a Washington, D.C. fundraiser hosted by Huntington Ingalls’ lobbyist and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Collins has taken more than $60,000 from the corporate PAC tied to the Virginia shipyard.

Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/in-new-ads-biw-workers-say-sen-collins-doesnt-have-their-back/