IUE-CWA Members Ratify GE Contract by 79 Percent

Four-year deal holds line on massive health care cost shifting, cutbacks for new hires

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

IUE-CWA members voted to ratify a new four-year national contract with General Electric with 79 percent approving of the agreement.

"We are happy that the majority of members agreed with the national bargaining committee and Conference Board in recognizing the value that this contract brings to them and their families," said IUE-CWA GE and Aerospace Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor.

The contract brought significant advancements for the nearly 10,000 IUE-CWA members at GE, as well as members of the unions that comprise the 13-union Coordinated Bargaining Committee of GE unions, which joins the IUE-CWA national table during the talks.

After years of demands, the company finally agreed to Veteran's Day as a new holiday.

"This was an emotional issue for our negotiators and our members," said IUE-CWA President Jim Clark, who participated in GE talks for the first time. "With our country at war and the extensive history of military service by our members, this holiday has been long overdue."

Among other highlights Clark pointed to discussions with the company on joining forces to bring change to the nation's health care system.

"GE and the unions have agreed to accelerate our joint efforts to address the difficult health care issues our nation faces," he stated. "This will help to address a critical issue for not only GE employees but all American workers."

The talks also brought a historic gain for retired members. GE announced that it will recommend that its board of directors approve the first increase for pensioners in six years.

The move came after massive retiree mobilization at local sites and the annual shareholders meeting. More than 200 retirees turned out at the shareholders meeting in South Carolina, including buses of retirees from Roanoke, Va. Local 161 and Louisville, Ky. Local 761.

With no cost-of-living adjustments in the GE pension plan retirees, some of whom have been out of the plant for decades, constantly see their income eroded by inflation.

The increase will be based on the pensioner's year of retirement and years of service. The largest increases will be provided to those who have been retired the longest.

Checks will be mailed in December.

Another major pre-contract concern centered on benefits for new hires. GE was asking the union to accept seven cutbacks it implemented for unrepresented salaried workers in 2005.

The union rebuffed all but two of the new hire proposals, agreeing to reduced life insurance and to eliminating post-65 health care coverage.

"We managed to save for new hires early retirement options and other key gains we have made over the years," explained Santamoor. "If we don't have a national health care solution by the time the typical new hire retires, we all will be in trouble."

Other gains came in pensions and holding the line against massive health care cost shifting.

Increases in medical cost sharing only rose from 19 percent to 20.5 percent for a typical union employee. The average cost sharing for all of GE workers is 26 percent.

Members will see an average hourly wage increase of 16 percent from four general wage increases and eight cost-of-living adjustments.

That translates into almost $17,000 in additional pay even after backing out health care contributions.

In pensions, long-service workers could see as much as a 30 percent improvement from the guaranteed pension tables when combined with income boosts over the length of the contract.

Short-service workers gained an extra week of vacation and a 66 percent increase in the night shift differential.

The contract renews retirement opportunities for long-service employees in cases of permanent job loss events. It also includes two early retirement "windows" for workers ages 55 to 59 with 30 years of service with a total of 900 retirement opportunities.

"This is a historic agreement that improves our members' wages and benefits," said Santamoor. "I applaud their solidarity in fighting for a fair contract, which is what we have achieved."