FAIRFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 2003--Members of two unions representing 16,500 General Electric Company employees have approved new four-year national labor contracts with GE. Union officials informed GE that voting by members of the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) was completed Tuesday.
The contracts were approved by membership votes in IUE-CWA and UE locals. Ratification completes the unions' approval process for the contract agreements. Union leaders and GE reached tentative agreements on the labor contracts on June 15. The contracts were endorsed by the unions' bargaining committees and conference boards.
GE Senior Vice President for Human Resources William J. Conaty said, "We are confident that these contracts are good for our employees and good for GE. We are gratified that our union-represented workforce agrees."
The IUE-CWA represents about 13,000 GE employees at more than 50 company locations including Louisville, KY; Lynn, MA; Schenectady, NY; Arkansas City, KS; and Waterford, NY. The UE represents about 3,500 employees at 15 locations, including Erie, PA; Fort Edward, NY; and Ontario, CA.
Terms of the new contracts have been offered to eleven other unions that have local contracts with GE. These unions represent about 7,900 GE employees. Agreements have been completed with most of these units.
They are: the International Association of Machinists (IAM); the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers (UAW); the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees (IFPTE); the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE); the United Steelworkers of America (USA); Sheet Metal Workers (SMW); the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT); the American Flint Glass Workers (AFGW); the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices (Plumbers); and Service Employees International (SEI).
GE (NYSE:GE) is a diversified technology and services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, television programming and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs 315,000 people worldwide.
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