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LYNN, Massachusetts - More than 2,000 General Electric Co. (GE) workers and their supporters rallied here May 31 to demand that guarantees of job security and full pensions after 30 years be included in the contract now under discussion between GE management and unions representing some 46,000 workers. The current contract expires June 29.

The International Union of Electrical Workers Local 201, the union which represents the majority of workers at GE's jet engine plant here, organized the demonstration that included contingents of workers from GE plants across the eastern United States. More than 150 workers traveled from GE's power generation plant in Schenectady, New York, while others came from Louisville, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. A delegation of union leaders from GE plants in Brazil and Argentina was welcomed with a standing ovation. The Lynn rally is one of a series that concludes in Erie, Pennsylvania on June 21.

Addressing the rally, Local 201 president Jeffrey Crosby stated that the key issue in the contract negotiations is "not economic..it is about whether GE will provide any hope or future for those who have retired, those who will retire from GE, and those who will work here in the future." Many workers echoed this view. Teddy Weyhrauch, a turbine blade polisher at the Schenectady plant, said "job security is the issue, not wages. It's about having a job." Weyhrauch pointed out that the workforce at the Schenectady plant has been slashed from 13,000 to 2,000 over the last 15 years. In the United States, GE's personnel has been nearly halved since 1987.

GE bosses have adopted a belligerent stance leading-up to the contract talks. Rejecting union demands to guarantee a set number of union jobs, Robert Risch, a top GE manager in New England, has stated "job security is not won at the bargaining table. It is won in the marketplace." A video featuring a talk by CEO Jack Welch has been shown in all GE plants. In it Welch claims, "We are the best prepared company in the world to take a strike."

Machinists strike Allied Healthcare in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS - Voting 209 to 35, members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Lodge 1345 rejected the company's contract proposal and went on strike against Allied Healthcare Products here June 1. Allied is a producer of gas equipment for medical purposes.

In the first days following the strike call, most delivery trucks are honoring the pickets and no IAM member has crossed the line.

"It feels good to be fighting back and seeing us all sticking together," said Modess Echeazu, an assembler at Allied for the past eight years. "We're made up of a lot of different nationalities: Russian, Indian, Iraqi, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Chilean, Italian, Vietnamese, Black, and white. None of us have crossed the line. That's what solidarity is all about," Echeazu added.

During negotiations, the company proposed that the union accept an extension of the previous contract, including a one- year wage freeze. Assemblers, who make up most of the workforce, currently make $7.35 an hour. This proposal was also soundly defeated in a membership vote May 10.

In the latest contract proposal that was rejected prior to the strike, Allied offered wage increases of 25 cents per hour for each of the three years of the contract, plus a "signing bonus" of $150. It also called for a raise in co- payments for health coverage for employees with dependents.

"The company ignored all of our proposals such as more money to compensate members who have to wear respirators on the job," said Lynn Brunne, a member of the plant safety committee. "We risk our health on the job and they want us to pay more out of our pockets for health insurance."

In the first days of the walkout, strikers have experienced expressions of community support. The Allied plant is located in an Italian neighborhood of St. Louis known as "The Hill." A nearby bakery brought over fresh bread to the picket line on the first day of the strike. Another passerby brought a pizza to the picketers.

3M workers reject forced overtime in Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minnesota - The week of May 11-18 was "Work Smart" week at the 3M Tape Plant here. Members of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers (OCAW) local 6-75 organized the campaign in the tape coating and "6-Maker" departments to let the company know they will not accept mandatory overtime as part of contract negotiations. The union broke off negotiations the week before, because the company refused to discuss pensions, wage increases, or subcontracting. Workers in the two departments refused to work the voluntary 12-hour days or weekend overtime. The union scored a victory in forcing the company to cancel weekend production.

The success of the campaign provided a boost in morale for the union and showed the workers their strength in solidarity.

Many people in the tape coating department and "6-Maker" work the voluntary weekend overtime, but have said they will not allow the company to tell them they have to work 12-hour days and the weekends.

Sue Walther, a young woman hired in January of this year said, "I want to have control of whether or not I work overtime. I think the "Work Smart " week is a way to show the company that we do have solidarity here."

Andy Buchanan, member of United Auto Workers Local 1596 in Boston; Jim Garrison, UAW member, and Angy Folkes, member of IAM Lodge 1345 on strike at Allied Healthcare Products, in St. Louis; and Jenny Benton, member of OCAW Local 6-75 in St. Paul contributed to this week's column.  
 
 
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