Hooksett GE employees want a new voice for workers

From Hooksett WAGE Committee, March 26, 2007

Time for a Seat at the Table…
Hooksett GE employees gathered on March 14 to begin building a new Working At GE (WAGE) Committee here. WAGE committees can represent employees with legitimate grievances, work with management to fix on-the-job problems and be a voice for our interests as workers. WAGE is an association, not a union.

Frustrated by deteriorating conditions, the idea for a Hooksett WAGE Committee emerged after several employees met with Local 201's Ric Casilli on Feb. 25. Casilli is on the IUE-CWA – GE National Negotiating Committee and is a veteran of three previous national contract negotiations with GE.

Possible role in national contract talks?In past years, other WAGE committees have sent representatives to attend national negotiations in New York. One outcome of forming a local WAGE committee could be a similar opportunity for us. Contract talks are set to begin on May 21.

To our co-workers at Hooksett:
Are you sick and tired of what management is getting away with here at Hooksett?
It won't change unless we change it.

Please join us on Wed., March 28 to work together for more dignity and respect. Second shift: 2:00 – 3:00 PM. First Shift: 3:30 – 4:30 PM. Third shift may attend either meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Plumbers Hall, 161 Londonderry Turnpike in Hooksett. All are invited!

Participation in WAGE is protected by federal labor law!

A New Voice at Work…
Fairness and respect for all employees are top concerns of Hooksett WAGE Committee!
When Hooksett workers met on March 14, we had a wide ranging discussion about some of our major on-the-job concerns.

While everyone has their own gripes and pet peeves, the most important concern was a sense that local management is too focused on the "needs of the business." It needs to be balanced with making Hooksett a good place to work where everyone is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Some of the top issues that united all of us were:
• Hooksett absentee policy. Local interpretation of the policy is unreasonable. For example, if we miss three days in a row, it's three "occurrences." Like other locations, it should only be one "occurrence" for each absent period.

• Personnel policies. Our rules and procedures should be spelled out and adhered to. Instead, we have a "chalkboard" employee handbook that can be changed any time. It is applied as management sees fit, with too many hidden, unwritten rules.

• Production quotas. The policy of posting our names and production output is divisive. It leads to poor quality and is an incentive to mis-voucher.

• Job combinations. If we are asked to do more, then our skills should be rewarded at higher rates.

• Training opportunities. We should be offered more training so we can upgrade to better jobs.

• "Needs of the business." Why is it constantly used to justify why no one can upgrade?

• Health and safety. When someone is injured management shouldn't "blame the victim." And we shouldn't have to complain five times to get a problem fixed!

Top union negotiator rallies IUE-CWA Local 201 members to oppose cuts in health care benefits

UE national rep. separates fact from fiction on GE's real health care costs

Lynn, MA – With less than four months before the start of national GE contract negotiations, a top union negotiator told almost 300 GE's River Works union members and retirees that there is no good economic reason for GE to shift its medical costs to employees.

Speaking at Lynn's Connery Post 6 on January 23, United Electrical Worker's Stephen Tormey said, "GE's insurance cost increases have actually been below national averages. More importantly, as a percent of both the company's total revenue and profits, its costs have remained essentially unchanged."

Tormey is the Secretary of the UE-GE Conference Board and one of eight top leaders of the Coordinated Bargaining Committee that involves than 14 international unions.

"Despite continuing record profits, GE is trying to create an atmosphere of inevitability about the need for savings on its medical costs for both active and retired employees," said Tormey after directly quoting several senior GE managers. "It's especially ironic given that in just the last month the company had the cash to spend almost $15 billion on acquiring three new companies!"

GE announced on January 19 that its full-year earnings from continuing operations were a record $20.7 billion, up 11 percent from 2005. National contract negotiations with GE are expected to begin in early May. The current GE national union agreements covering about 20,000 workers expires on June 17, 2007. It also indirectly impacts tens of thousands of retirees, non-union workers and lower level managers.

"Everyone – current members, pre-age 65 retirees, and post-age 65 retirees – should be prepared for an attack," added Tormey. "It's imperative that we educate our fellow members about the company's faulty assumptions. But we won't win by being right or having the best argument. The only way to fight back with GE is to get more members involved in the contract campaign and united behind our union leaders at the bargaining table."

Support from the community will also be essential for a successful contract campaign. "If we let large corporations like GE get away with passing on their costs to employees or cutting benefits to "save" money, then they lose their incentive to work for meaningful reforms that are needed to hold down costs and improve access to high quality care for everyone," said Leslie Greenberg who chairs the Lynn Health Task Force. "By resisting GE's health care concessions, GE workers and your union are making an important contribution to the reform movement. And by taking a stand, you are forcing GE to be part of the solution!"

The meeting was also attended by representatives from Jobs with Justice, a coalition of labor and community groups that has often helped unions oppose insurance concessions.

"Over the years, our members have made sacrifices in wages and other contract areas to maintain decent medical benefits," said Local 201 Business Agent Ric Casilli. "Even so, our costs have steadily been rising. Currently the average member with a family of four pays an estimated $1,100 annually for medical coverage and $360 for prescriptions. Post-65 age retirees and their spouses are burdened with average costs of $4,632 annually – a huge hardship because there is no cost of living increase in their monthly pensions." Casilli is also a member of the IUE-CWA National Bargaining Committee.

In January 2005, GE changed its medical plan for managers, making all newly hired managers pay for all of their pre-age 65 insurance coverage once they retire and ending its post-age 65 Medicare supplemental insurance completely.

A recent survey of GE union members showed that preserving medical coverage was members' number one priority. Members walked out nationwide for two-days in January 2003 to stop GE from raising premiums.

IUE-CWA Local 201 unites more than 2,400 manufacturing and other workers on the North Shore for the good jobs that our communities need.

Learn more about how IUE-CWA Local 201 unites manufacturing and other workers for the good jobs that our communities at: http://www.local201iuecwa.org

Additional pictures from the January 23 membership meeting may be viewed at: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZM2Thu0atFEw0

Unions and community groups show solidarity with Gillette workers

From the June 27, 2006 IUE-CWA Local 201 Electrical Union News, By Rand Wilson, Local 201 Organizing Director

Gillette recently announced that in October it is closing part of its razorblade packaging center affecting more than a hundred jobs. The decision is the latest in a series of job cuts by Gillette's new owner, the giant multi-national conglomerate Procter & Gamble based in Cincinnati, OH.

The labor-backed Merrimack Valley Project (MVP) sponsored a march and rally on June 17 demanding that Gillette provide a fair severance for workers and compensation to the community for the economic and social costs of the plant closure. There was an impressive showing of support for the workers from many local unions including IUE-CWA, SEIU, Teachers', UNITE-HERE and the Merrimack Valley Labor Council. MVP is a regional organization of religious congregations, labor unions and community groups.

The Gillette "pack center" is located at Devens Industrial Park (on the grounds of the old Army base near Ayer). Devens is managed by a quasi-public agency, MassDevelopment, which aggressively pursues companies to locate business in the park using a mix of development subsidies, tax breaks and streamlined permitting.

Gillette took advantage of these deals to set up its razorblade packaging center. Many other companies including General Electric, American Superconductor, Netstal Machinery, Nichols Aircraft, UPS and Xinetics have also set up facilities at Devens.

Gillette has also not renewed its lease on the larger remaining pack center operation employing 350 full-time and as many as 700 temp employees. A social impact study showed that if Gillette closes both plants, it could affect as many as 1,825 jobs in the area and cost taxpayers at least $26 million.

MVP has been organizing workers at the packaging center for several years to pressure Gillette to create more permanent full time jobs and stop discrimination against the largely immigrant work force hired by its subcontractors.

Although Gillette has more than 3,000 employees at its South Boston, Andover and Devens facilities, none are united in a union. Now that it's owned by P&G, local Gillette workers have no voice in decisions about their future that are being made by managers in Cincinnati.

A survey of P&G's operations shows that many of its 110,000 workers in the U.S. and around the world are members of unions. Thousands of P&G's employees at its Clairol, Folgers, Sundor and pharmaceutical subsidiaries are union members. So are hundreds of Gillette workers in St. Paul, MN and Janesville, WI. If Gillette workers in Massachusetts are ready to stand up and fight back, they can count on help from Local 201 and the support of other unions to gain a voice with this giant company.

For a copy of MVP's Economic Impact Analysis and an overview of unions at P&G, contact Rand Wilson at the union hall (781) 598-2760 or by email at rwilson@local201iuecwa.org.

Hooksett and Lynn GE workers urge Rep. Bradley to maintain funding for good full time jobs

From the June 6, 2006 IUE-CWA Local 201 Electrical Union News

GE workers from the Hooksett and Lynn plants who live in southern New Hampshire met with Representative Jeb Bradley seeking his support to "dual source" the contract for the advanced Joint Strike Fighter aircraft engine. Bradley serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. The Bush Administration has opposed dual sourcing the JSF, cutting out the GE/Rolls JSF engine.

"We make high quality aircraft engine parts," said Beverly Murdough who helped spearhead a petition drive supporting the "dual source" contract in the Hooksett plant. "We're proud of what we do and hope Congress will allow us to keep doing the work."

After listening carefully to brief presentation from the lobbying group, Bradley indicated his strong support for continuing GE's role in the Joint Strike Fighter. He said he would closely monitor the pending Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriations bills to make sure the provisions for dual sourcing are maintained. Congress is expected to send the final bills to Pres. Bush for his signature sometime this summer.

Working together for a more secure future
The delegation to Rep. Bradley also sought his support for a new "Strategic Materials Protection Board" that is included in the House version of the FY '07 Defense Authorization bill. The proposed board is charged with drawing up a list of materials critical to national security and then requires the Pentagon to buy only U.S. made items from the list. This provision, and similar "build America" measures are generally opposed by the Bush Administration.

"The Strategic Materials Protection Board and Build America programs are good for national security and common sense for the economy," said Local 201 Bldg. 40 Steward Randy Hodson. "I hope Congress and the President do the right thing."

Employee Free Choice Act
Local 201 President Jeff Crosby concluded the meeting with a presentation to Bradley about the importance of reforming America's labor laws so that more people can unite at work for the good jobs that America's communities need.
"Recently, many Hooksett GE workers have contacted us about forming a new WAGE chapter for a stronger voice in their future," said Crosby. "They should be allowed to do that free from management intimidation or retaliation."

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act would allow faster certification when a majority of employees sign up to authorize a union. The bill would also establish stronger penalties for employers that violate U.S. labor laws. The legislation (S. 842 and H.R. 1696) currently has 215 co-sponsors in the House and 42 in Senate. Rep. Bradley said he would get more information about the bill and consider it.

Together we get results
When GE workers are united in IUE-CWA, it gives employees added strength in the community and with our elected officials. That's why GE managers in Lynn have actively sought union assistance in the campaign to secure duel source funding for the Joint Strike Fighter. And it shows how effectively GE management and its unions can work together towards common goals.

Yet, the Hooksett "employee handbook" clearly spells out management's views on employees having a united voice at work. "Hooksett employees have chosen to operate without union representation. We have been very successful operating Hooksett this way…we should never have the need for a union."
What the handbook doesn't say is that the decision about unions and a voice at work isn't up to Hooksett management. By law, only the employees can make that decision.

The meeting with Bradley was an example of how Local 201 members can work cooperatively with Hooksett GE workers on our common issues and concerns. Much more cooperation is needed to break down old stereotypes about "Lynn union people" and provide opportunities for people from both plants to get to know one another better. An excellent opportunity for joint activity is on the horizon when bargaining begins for a new national contract next year.

For additional information about Build America, the Employee Free Choice Act and WAGE, please contact me at (781) 598-2760 or by email at rwilson@local201iuecwa.org.

(Photo caption)
Political Action
Hooksett's Bev Murdough gives Rep. Bradley copies of petitions for President Bush signed by over 70 workers from the Hooksett plant. Many other workers from Hooksett also contacted Bradley individually. Nearly 1,000 Local 201 members from Lynn signed similar petitions that were sent to Pres. Bush on May 11.

(Photo caption for front page)
New Hampshire GE workers lobby for Joint Strike Fighter
Pictured above with Rep. Jeb Bradley are (l-r) Hooksett's William Doucette and Beverly Murdough who were joined by Local 201 members Randy Hodson (steward in Building 40) and Steve Gauthier (Health and Safety Committee, Gear Plant). The group met with Bradley on May 30 at his office in Manchester, NH to talk about the JSF and securing good jobs for the future at both Lynn and Hooksett. Also attending the meeting were Legislative Committee member Fuzzy Herrick (Bldg. 74) and Local 201 President Jeff Crosby.

GE workers urge Rep. Bradley to maintain funding for good full time jobs

Workers from GE’s facilities in Hooksett, NH and Lynn, MA met with Representative Jeb Bradley in Manchester seeking his support to reverse the Pentagon’s decision to “single source” its next contract for the advanced Joint Strike Fighter aircraft engine. The single source decision backed by President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld would kill the engine made by a partnership between GE and British-based Rolls Royce.

The Bush Administration has asserted that a single contract from Pratt and Whitney for the Joint Strike Fighter could save $1.8 billion next year. However, over the long term, dual sourcing of the jet fighter aircraft engines could save taxpayers as much as $12 billion.

At the May 30 meeting, the GE workers who live in southern New Hampshire gave Rep. Bradley petitions to President George Bush signed by over 70 workers from the Hooksett plant. Bradley serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.

“We make high quality aircraft engine parts,” said Beverly Murdough, a GE employee from Alton, NH who spearheaded the petition drive in the Hooksett plant. “We’re proud of what we do and hope Congress will allow us to keep doing the work.”

Nearly 1,000 workers from Lynn have signed similar petitions to Pres. Bush. The defense contract could represent about 10 percent of future employment at the Hooksett and Lynn aircraft engine plants.

Rep. Bradley indicated his strong support for continuing GE’s role in the Joint Strike Fighter. He said he would closely monitor the pending Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriations bills to make sure the provisions for duel sourcing are maintained. Congress is expected to send the final bills to Pres. Bush for his signature sometime this summer.

GE workers also pressed Rep. Bradley to support funding for a new "Strategic Materials Protection Board" that is included in the House version of the FY07 Defense Authorization bill. The proposed board is charged with drawing up a list of materials critical to national security and then requires the Pentagon to buy only U.S. made items from the list. This provision, and similar “build America” measures are strongly opposed by the Bush Administration.

“The Strategic Materials Protection Board and Build America programs are good for national security and common sense for the economy,” said Randy Hodson, who lives in Derry and works for GE in Lynn. “I hope Congress and the President do the right thing.”

After a freewheeling discussion about the significance of the defense industry to maintaining high skill, good quality jobs in the New England region, the meeting concluded with a presentation to Rep. Bradley about the importance of reforming America’s labor laws so that more workers can unite at work for the good jobs that America’s communities need.

“Many of the workers at Hooksett GE have expressed an interest in forming a union for a stronger voice in their future,” said IUE-CWA Local 201 president Jeff Crosby. “They should be allowed to do that free from management intimidation or retaliation.”

Crosby outlined the provisions of the proposed Employee Free Choice Act that would allow faster certification of unions when a majority of employees sign for its authorization. The bill would also establish stronger penalties for employers that violate U.S. labor laws. It currently has 215 co-sponsors in the House and 42 in Senate. Rep. Bradley said he would get more information about the bill and consider it.

Additional information about the meeting with Bradley, Build America and Employee Free Choice Act can be obtained from Local 201 by contacting Rand Wilson at rwilson@local201iuecwa.org.

GE workers mobilizing to maintain funding for good full time jobs in Lynn, MA and in Hooksett, NH

Lynn, MA - Leaders of IUE-CWA Local 201 sent petitions on May 11 signed by over 1,000 workers to President George Bush demanding an immediate reconsideration of the Pentagon's decision to single source it's next advanced Joint Strike Fighter aircraft engine from one company.

The petitions reflect work by union stewards and committee members during two month-long membership education and political action campaign to build grassroots pressure on Congress to reverse the Pentagon decision.

In a letter to President Bush accompanying the petitions, Local 201 union president Jeff Crosby wrote, "The GE-Rolls Royce alternative engine for the Joint Strike Fighter makes sense from a public policy and employment point of view. It seems that the Iraq war and the Bush budget deficit is distorting even military procurement decisions for long-term planning. We lost jobs here in Lynn in the 1980s when the Defense Department dual-sourced a GE fighter engine to save money through competition. The same logic should apply now."

A U.S. Senate Armed Forces subcommittee voted on May 4 to join a House of Representatives subcommittee in calling for restoration of funding for a backup engine made by a partnership between British-based Rolls Royce and GE. The Bush-Rumsfeld proposal to kill the GE-Roll project is facing growing opposition in Congress.

The defense contract could mean 800 jobs at GE's Aviation plant in Evendale, Ohio and 300 jobs for the company's River Works aircraft engine manufacturing plant in Lynn, Massachusetts when it goes into final production in 2009. It also represents 10 percent of future employment at the Hooksett, NH GE plant.

The next hurdle is to make sure that the funding is maintained in the Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriations bills that Congress is expected to send to President Bush for his signature sometime this summer. The House and Senate Armed Forces subcommittees voted to approve the contract funding last week. The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on it today. The timetable for a vote in the Senate is still not known.

The Massachusetts Congressional delegation, especially Senator Kennedy and Congressmen John Tierney and Marty Meehan, have played an active role to defend the GE-Rolls project.

Senator Kennedy has called the Local 201 union hall twice to keep union leaders up to date on the bill's progress.

President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have opposed the contract because they believe they could save $1.8 billion next year. However, the union say that duel sourcing of the jet fighter aircraft engines would save taxpayers as much as $12 billion over the long run.

In addition to the River Works plant in Lynn, signatures for the petitions were gathered at Wilmington's Ametek Aerospace and over a half dozen North Shore GE vendors that depend on contracts from GE. Workers at GE's Hooksett, NH plant also made a significant showing of support by collecting signatures. The Hooksett plant supplies engine parts for assembly in Lynn.

A meeting of GE workers who live in southern New Hampshire to discuss the importance of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program with Representative Jeb Bradley is set for May 15 in Manchester. Rep. Bradley serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.

For a copy of the letter to President Bush, contact Rand Wilson at rwilson@local201iuecwa.org

Auburn WAGE Bulletin, April 28, 2006

Auburn WAGE hosts meeting with member of GE union’s National Negotiating Committee
Our WAGE Committee gathered on April 23 to hear from Ric Casilli, a leader of IUE-CWA Local 201 in Lynn, Mass. Casilli - a veteran of three previous national contract negotiations with GE - will again be a negotiator at talks with top management expected to begin in May 2007.

Casilli came to Auburn to give a preview of some of the anticipated bargaining issues and the timing of nationally coordinated membership activities to spotlight employees' top concerns.

The existing agreement with GE, covering approximately 10,000 members, expires June 18, 2007. Another 10,000 plus union members in 13 different unions will also be impacted as part of coordinated bargaining.

GE has traditionally used the wage and benefit package negotiated with its union members to set the pattern for what it gives to its nonunion workers. Benefits for tens of thousands of retirees are likely to be affected as well.

"Most people know what big business wants these days," said Casilli. "Just about every corporation - even very profitable ones like GE - is seeking to roll back the gains that workers have made in their health care and pension benefits."

The number of workers united in unions at GE has declined from about 35 percent in 1980 to less than 15 percent today.

"We've held off GE in past years, but as union membership declines, it's getting harder and harder," said Casilli. "The only way we can defend GE workers wages and benefits is by uniting all GE workers behind the unions' national negotiating committee."

"That means our campaign has to educate and involve many more workers from non-union plants. WAGE committees like the one here in Auburn are really leading the way," Casilli concluded.

"Everyone at GE should pay very close attention to these national negotiations. Whether you support unions or not, our fate is closely tied to the outcome of these talks." -- Jill Starbird

WAGE members discussed participating in a national survey to help the Negotiating Committee determine members' top priorities for contract negotiations. We also talked about raising funds to send members from Auburn to contract rallies, union meetings and national negotiating sessions.

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Auburn WAGE voted to join Maine’s Fair Trade Campaign. The campaign is organizing a public hearing on trade issues Thursday, May 11 at 6:00 PM at Andover College, 475 Lisbon St., in Lewiston. Everyone is urged to attend.

The job you save could be your own!