Kaiser Shipyard

Located north of San Francisco in California’s Contra Costa County, the Kaiser Shipyard played a large role in the economy of the northern California town of Richmond, especially during the years of World War II.

This shipyard, where 747 vessels were built during the war, is listed on California’s National Register of Historic Places.  Established in 1940, Kaiser Shipyard jumped right into the building of ships for use in World War II.  The first ships built here were used by the British to fight the Nazis more than a year before America’s entrance into the war.

The shipyard was well-known for its quick production time.  On an average, employees at Kaiser’s Richmond shipyards put together a ship in about two-thirds the time it took other top-notch shipyards, often saving the U.S. government thousands of dollars in construction costs and labor.  By 1944, Kaiser workers were building a Liberty Ship from start to finish in just a little more than two weeks time. 

Kaiser’s shipyards were among the first to employ assembly line techniques in their production.  This method of construction allowed untrained employers to do repetitive jobs that required little skill and opened up the war-time job market to women and minorities.

Kaiser Shipyard recruited workers from all over the United States and it is said that, during that time, the population of Richmond grew from 20,000 to 100,000 in just three years.  The Kaiser Shipyard also boasted 24-hour childcare centers, funded by the United States Maritime Commission, where working mothers whose husbands were at war could leave their children when necessary.  This was a groundbreaking experiment in child care. 

The nation's first HMO, now Kaiser Permanente, was founded to keep the shipyard workers healthy and the term “Rosie the Riveter” originated in regards to the women who worked here. 

Unfortunately, for those who relocated to California for employment at the Kaiser Shipyard, prosperity was short-lived.  The shipyard closed in 1945 and thousands lost their jobs.

If you were one of the thousands of men and women who were employed by Kaiser at their Richmond, California shipyards, you may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos fibers.  If you held a position such as welder, ship fitter, insulator, inspector/tester, plumber, or electrician, you might have inhaled dangerous asbestos on the job. 

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma due to your years of employment with Kaiser, you’ll want to learn as much as possible about the disease, its treatments, and your rights as an asbestos-related cancer victim.  Please take a moment to order our free Mesothelioma Information Kit, which will provide you with the facts you need.