In Open Letter to President Trump, IUE-CWA Urges General Electric to Produce Additional Life-Saving Ventilators in Underutilized Facilities

IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew criticizes GE for laying off thousands of highly-skilled workers who have the ability to produce ventilators for COVID-19 patients;

Kennebrew identifies GE facilities in seven states with immediate production capacity available to make more ventilators

NATIONWIDE -- Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Carl Kennebrew, International President of the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA), sent an open letter to President Donald Trump urging him to use his authority under the Defense Production Act to instruct General Electric (GE) to increase manufacturing of much-needed ventilators by setting-up production in its underutilized facilities. President Kennebrew identified GE facilities in seven states -- Texas, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio -- that have immediate production capacity available to produce thousands of additional life-saving ventilators without disrupting existing production of critical aviation, power and electrical equipment.

In the letter, President Kennebrew welcomes GE’s partnerships with the Ford corporation to drive the production of ventilators, though he notes that at current capacity, GE will only be able to produce approximately 15,000 ventilators a month by mid-July. This falls far short of the estimated need.

“We urge you to instruct GE to further increase its production of ventilators by setting-up production in underutilized facilities within its aviation, electrical systems, power grid, and lighting divisions,” wrote President Kennebrew in his letter to President Trump. “The most effective way for GE to meet our nation’s ventilator needs is to put thousands of skilled GE workers to work in underutilized GE facilities across the country.”

GE’s excess capacity stems in part from the company’s recently announced massive lay-offs in its aviation workforce, and the impending closure of its Dallas-based facility, leaving thousands of highly-skilled workers capable of making life-saving ventilators jobless.

“As one of the major producers of lifesaving hospital ventilators, GE is poised to save countless lives if it rapidly expands production to meet America’s urgent needs,” wrote President Kennebrew. ”IUE-CWA members have the skills to make ventilators, GE has the capacity in these facilities, and production managers at GE Healthcare have the experience and knowledge to make this happen now.”

The union’s open letter comes after IUE-CWA members in recent weeks protested at GE facilities in Schenectady, NY; Salem, VA; Dallas, TX; Lynn, MA, and the company’s national HQ in Boston, MA to demand the company increase production of life-saving ventilators and implement enhanced safety measures at its facilities to protect workers. The union has also launched a petition calling on Trump to “Use his authority under the Defense Production Act to force GE to use its highly-skilled union workforce and underutilized facilities to produce ventilators and save lives during this pandemic.”

BACKGROUND ON INDIVIDUAL SITES

GE workers across the country are asking to be put to work saving fellow Americans. These GE facilities in Texas, Virgina, New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio have the capacity to begin ventilator production immediately, without disrupting existing production of critical aviation, power and electrical equipment:

• GE Power Center of Excellence, Dallas, TX: On February 20, 2020, GE announced the intent to close this shop and lay-off the employees who help keep our national electric grid running. Employees in Dallas are demanding that GE use this facility and its highly-skilled workers to manufacture ventilators, and are calling for increased safety measures to protect workers at this time. The plant has won the company’s coveted “Center of Excellence” designation and has a clean room which would help facilitate ventilator production.

• Former Industrial Controls Plant, Salem, VA: On November 28, 2018, GE closed this factory and moved production to India. Over one million square feet sits empty, and 200 workers lost their jobs. These workers should be put back to work manufacturing ventilators to help fight the pandemic. Their expertise manufacturing circuit boards and custom control systems for gas, wind and solar energy turbines could easily be put to use right now manufacturing ventilators.

• GE Global Research Center, Schenectady, NY: The Schenectady facility produces generators for the power grids in the USA and throughout the world. This facility, which formerly employed 20,000 workers and now employs just over 800, clearly has significant excess capacity and is particularly well-suited for ventilator work. The Schenectady plant houses a research and development facility and clean room that had been used to produce mammography imaging equipment.

• GE Aviation, Lynn, MA; Arkansas City, KS; Madisonville, KY: The Lynn facility manufactures jet engines and military aircraft parts, and at one time employed 20,000 workers. Now only 1,230 work there amid cavernous, empty manufacturing spaces. Lynn workers are calling on GE to utilize this space to manufacture ventilators for COVID-19 patients. On March 23, GE announced 353 layoffs in Arkansas City, KS, representing more than half of the workforce at its engine maintenance facility, where tens of thousands of square feet are available for conversion to medical manufacturing. At the Madisonville, KY military jet engine facility, 13,000 square feet sit empty and could be converted immediately to ventilator production.

• GE Lighting, Cleveland, OH and Bucyrus, OH:  Both lighting facilities manufacture state-of-the-art lighting components and have the capacity and skills to bring in equipment immediately to start production of ventilators. At Neela Park, the former headquarters of GE Lighting in Cleveland, there are multiple secure buildings with ample space to take on this work. In Bucyrus, the current facility that formerly housed over 500 workers now employs only half that number.

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