Our History and Our Mission

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) was established by the Federal Government in 1800, and is the oldest, continuously operated US Naval Shipyard in the country.  In 1815, PNS launched its first product, the 74-gun warship USS Washington.  Today PNS continues its tradition of excellence and service to the Navy and the Nation by supplying the U.S Navy’s submarine fleet with high quality, affordable, overhaul, refueling and modernization work.   

Local 4, a Local affiliate of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), is a Charter Local of the IFPTE and has been headquartered at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) since 1918.  We formally represent the scientific, engineering, professional, and technical employees of PNS, Submarine Maintenance Engineering Planning and Procurement Office (SUBMEPP), the Defense Commissary Agency Portsmouth (DECA-COMM), and Chapter 1 of Local 4, which represents all employees of the Army Corps of Engineers at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH.  We are the recognized AFL-CIO-CLC affiliated Union for these employees.

The IFPTE has Locals in all four of the Naval Shipyards, and we represent employees at other Department of Navy (DON) activities, NASA, DOE, Air Force, Congressional Research employees, and other federal, public, and private employees throughout the United States and Canada.  We are granted exclusive recognition under Presidential Executive Orders 10988 and 11491.  With the advent of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 we acquired a statutory role in the representation of employees.