IUE-CWA Pact at GE Means Job Security and 300 New Jobs

An agreement between IUE-CWA and GE means job security, plus 300 new jobs for union members at a state-of-the-art battery plant to open in Schenectady, N.Y.

In an amendment to an existing contract covering members of IUE-CWA Local 81301, GE agreed to a moratorium on plant closings and job transfers and guaranteed that there would be no permanent job cuts through the contract's 2011 expiration. GE also offered a voluntary early retirement incentive program. In return, workers agreed to a one-year wage freeze and a longer summer shutdown in 2010.

Members of IUE Local 81301 overwhelming ratified the agreement that also will establish 300 new union jobs when the clean energy battery plant begins operations, now set for mid-2011. New York State committed $15 million for the venture, with Schenectady County's Development Authority providing a $5 million grant. The advanced battery business is expected to become a $1 billion business over the next decade.

IUE-CWA President Jim Clark called the agreement is a step forward for workers that boosts the development of quality green jobs. "It shows what can be accomplished in the United States if corporations work with employees to build a foundation that helps promote the development of new job-producing technologies."