National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with threeshipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, and Mayport. It is a division of General Dynamics. The San Diego shipyard specializes in constructing commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the US Navy and Military Sealift Command; it is the only new-construction shipyard on the West Coast of the United States. The Virginia shipyard primarily performs ship repairs and conversions for the U.S. Navy.

The origin of NASSCO traces to 1905 and a small machine shop and foundry known as California Iron Works. In 1922 California Iron Works was taken over by U.S. National Bank and renamed National Iron Works.

In 1944 National Iron Works moved to its present location at 28th Street and Harbor Drive on San Diego Bay, and in 1949 the company was renamed National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. to reflect its expansion into ship construction. In 1959 the company was acquired by four owners, including Henry J. Kaiser Company and Morrison Knudsen. In 1979 Morrison Knudsen bought out Kaiser's share, and in 1989 management acquired the company from Morrison Knudsen via an employee stock ownership plan.

In 1940 the company's ironworkers organized into a union. By 1979 the company had 7,900 employees organized into six unions. There was a labor strike in 1988 which was eventually resolved with a 49-month contract. Another 25-day-long strike in 1992 resulted in workers returning to work without a contract. Another 4-week-long strike in 1996 ended without any concessions to the workers, many of whom eventually returned to work.

Since 1991, much of NASSCO's work on US Navy warships has been outsourced to TIMSA in Mexico.

In 1998 General Dynamics bought NASSCO in a $415 million deal, and in 2000 the company underwent a $135 million upgrade of its facilities.