NORFOLK
Waving signs and chanting "We want to work," dozens of civilian Navy employees expressed fear Wednesday afternoon that they could lose their jobs to private contractors.
"We're blessed to have our jobs, but you can't help but worry about losing them to contractors," said Larry Dykes, a Virginia Beach resident who does construction and maintenance work on piers at Norfolk Naval Station and the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach.
"You look around, and you wonder, 'Are you next?' "
More than 60 workers who handle maintenance, transportation and environmental services at Navy installations in Hampton Roads stood outside the Norfolk Naval Station's main gate waving as military personnel and civilians departed for the day.
