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IUE Workers Ratify GE Contract
IUE members at General Electric Co. have overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract, described as the richest economic package the union has ever negotiated with the company.
The contract comes five months after CWA President Morton Bahr, IUE President Ed Fire and other union leaders publicly denounced GE’s “race to the bottom” corporate strategy.
Labor leaders criticized GE for moving factories to countries where it can pay the lowest wages and benefits, places where labor and environmental laws are rarely enforced. Lately, GE has been pressuring many of its suppliers to move their businesses out of the United States, too.
The new contract will boost wages by an average of 14 percent and significantly improve job security and pensions for 20,000 IUE members at GE, as well as many of the company’s other union workers. In all, GE workers are represented by 14 unions, including NABET-CWA, whose members have a separate contract with GE-owned NBC Broadcasting.
Among other provisions, the IUE contract calls for twice-yearly meetings between top company executives and union representatives, expands the number of job preservation and job creation committees, and improves benefits and placement opportunities for workers affected by transfers, automation and plant closings.
While the contract is a step in the right direction, Bahr said organized labor will continue to fight for American jobs and against the exploitation of workers overseas — by GE or any other corporation.
“In many countries, workers have no voice,” Bahr said. “We have to do everything in our power to ensure that they are paid decent wages and benefits, to ensure that they aren’t laboring long hours in sweatshop conditions.”
The contract comes five months after CWA President Morton Bahr, IUE President Ed Fire and other union leaders publicly denounced GE’s “race to the bottom” corporate strategy.
Labor leaders criticized GE for moving factories to countries where it can pay the lowest wages and benefits, places where labor and environmental laws are rarely enforced. Lately, GE has been pressuring many of its suppliers to move their businesses out of the United States, too.
The new contract will boost wages by an average of 14 percent and significantly improve job security and pensions for 20,000 IUE members at GE, as well as many of the company’s other union workers. In all, GE workers are represented by 14 unions, including NABET-CWA, whose members have a separate contract with GE-owned NBC Broadcasting.
Among other provisions, the IUE contract calls for twice-yearly meetings between top company executives and union representatives, expands the number of job preservation and job creation committees, and improves benefits and placement opportunities for workers affected by transfers, automation and plant closings.
While the contract is a step in the right direction, Bahr said organized labor will continue to fight for American jobs and against the exploitation of workers overseas — by GE or any other corporation.
“In many countries, workers have no voice,” Bahr said. “We have to do everything in our power to ensure that they are paid decent wages and benefits, to ensure that they aren’t laboring long hours in sweatshop conditions.”