Founded 1938 | ||
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Headquarters Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States Parent organizations American Commercial Lines Inc, Commercial Barge Line Co | ||
Jeffboat
Jeffboat is the largest inland shipbuilder in the United States, located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is the second-largest builder of barges. It is most notable for building the General Jackson showboat, the Mississippi Queen steamboat, and the Casino Aztar riverboat casino.
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Originally named the Howard Shipyards, it had fallen on hard times due to the Great Depression. The United States Navy bought the shipyards in 1942 and gave it to a new company, Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company. During World War II, it built 123 Landing Ship-Tanks (LSTs), 23 submarine chasers, and numerous other craft. Post-war, the shipyards built customized crafts, but specialized in barges and towboats. In 1957, the official name was changed to Jeffboat.
Production was stopped from 1986 to 1989.
In 2001, a wildcat strike took place, as the workers felt that their union sold them out to the company.
A union decertification petition was circulated in the fall of 2006. The petition required 30% of bargaining unit employees to sign to schedule a decertification election. The election was held on December 7, 2006, and the employees voted overwhelmingly (NLRB certified results 649 to 190) to retain Teamsters Local 89 as their union.