GE, unions reach tentative agreements on new contracts

The General Electric Company and the national leaders of its two largest unions on have reached tentative agreements on new four-year labor contracts. The agreements are subject to review by union negotiating committees and ratification by union members by June 28.

The tentative agreements were reached June 17 after four weeks of intense bargaining between GE and the IUE-CWA and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). Terms of the new contracts will be extended to nine other unions that have local contracts with GE.

GE’s existing four-year national contracts with the IUE-CWA and the UE expired at midnight on June 17. The tentative new agreements will provide significant improvements in wages, pensions and benefits.

IUE-CWA president Jim Clark said, “GE and the unions have agreed to accelerate our joint efforts to address the difficult health care issues our nation faces. This will help to address a critical issue for not only GE employees but all American workers. I congratulate our negotiating committee members for their hard work.”

IUE-CWA GE conference board chairman Bob Santamoor said, “At this time when our troops are in harm’s way, GE has agreed to now allow its workers to honor U.S. veterans with the first new holiday in a decade, Veterans Day. This package is a huge victory for our members.”

Clark and Santamoor are recommending acceptance of the tentative agreement to the IUE-CWA negotiating committee and the conference board.

UE general president John Hovis said, “I think it’s an agreement our members will recognize as a good one. I’m especially pleased with the provisions that affect the shorter service people at the locations we represent.”

Hovis is recommending acceptance of the tentative agreement to the UE negotiating committee and conference board.

GE senior vice president Bill Conaty said, “We have achieved our goal of producing balanced contracts that benefit both employees and GE. These agreements provide employees with good wages and excellent benefits while allowing GE businesses to continue competing in tough global markets. We have made great GE jobs even better.”

The IUE-CWA/General Electric local union leaders will meet June 20 to review the tentative agreement and to submit it to its members at GE for a ratification vote. The UE/GE Conference Board will meet June 19 to review the contract and make a recommendation to its members. If recommended for approval by union leaders, the ratification votes will be conducted by June 28.

The 11 unions affected by these tentative agreements represent approximately 20,660 GE employees in the U.S. These unions are members of the Coordinated Bargaining Committee (CBC) of GE Unions. National negotiations are conducted with the IUE-CWA and the UE, and local contracts are negotiated with nine other CBC unions.

The IUE-CWA and its locals represent about 10,030 GE employees at company locations such as Louisville, Ky., (GE Consumer & Industrial); Lynn, Mass., (GE Aviation); Schenectady, N.Y., (GE Energy); and Arkansas City, Kan., (GE Aviation).

The UE represents about 4,050 employees at GE locations such as Erie, Pa., (GE Transportation); and Fort Edward, N.Y., (GE Energy).

The unions with local contracts with GE are: the International Association of Machinists (IAM); the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); the United Auto Workers (UAW); the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE); the United Steelworkers of America (USWA); Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA); the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT); the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices (UA); and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).