400 jobs at stake at Rock Island Arsenal, union leader says

QUAD CITIES, Ill./Iowa (KWQC) - Workers and companies in the Quad-Cities are anxiously waiting to see what might happen next on the Rock Island Arsenal.

Labor leaders say hundreds of jobs are at risk one of the Quad-Cities’ biggest employers.

Union leaders on the Rock Island Arsenal are telling their members to brace for cuts and major changes.

The base has been targeted for cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, the agency being led by Elon Musk.

But big changes could be coming, says Chad Finch, vice president of AFGE Local 2119. That’s the union that represents some of the non-supervisory blue-collar workers on the Island.

“We know this is coming from DOGE and they just want to make cuts across the board, for their efficiencies, or whatever they want to call it this week. Bottom line, it’s jobs in the Quad-Cities, and it’s going to hurt.”

Finch told me today that as many as 400 jobs are on the chopping block now as part of a proposal to merge the Joint Munitions Command and Army Sustainment Command.

The JMC manufactures and manages the Army’s munitions. The ASC handles logistics to get supplies to where they need to be.

I also spoke with Shane Conner, AFGE local vice president. He said his union hasn’t received any official word on the cuts. Also unknown is the number of workers who’ve already taken buyouts or early retirement.

Either way, the labor leaders told me any cuts would be not just a blow to the Quad-Cities but aalso threat to national security.