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GE Workers Vote to Strike Over Health Care Cost Increases

Contact: Lauren Asplen, IUE-CWA, 202-513-6304

FT. LAUDERDALE – – Delegates to the IUE-CWA/GE Conference Board today unanimously voted to authorize a national strike – the first in three decades – if General Electric persists in plans to increase health care costs for workers and retirees.

GE has announced plans to unilaterally increase co-pays for workers and retirees in its managed care plan, Health Care Preferred, effective January 1, 2003. Under the national contract, IUE-CWA locals have the right to conduct a national strike in response.

“The events of next year are in GE’s hands,” said IUE-CWA President Edward Fire. “With 2002 profits approaching a record $16 billion, GE can easily afford to maintain health care at its current levels. We have asked GE to cancel the increases. We are prepared to discuss all the issues – including health care costs – in national negotiations next May. But if GE provokes a strike, we will respond.”

The increases would come less than six months before the opening of national negotiations in May 2003, where health care costs are expected to be a major subject of bargaining, following a national trend in recent labor negotiations. GE has indicated that it will make demands for more cost increases during those talks. The company’s stated goal is to shift another 15 percent of costs onto workers and retirees.

“We have no other options,” said Art Smith, chairman of the IUE-CWA/GE Conference Board. “If we don’t act now, GE will steamroll us come May negotiations. We have to let the company know, forcefully, that our active and retired members expect and deserve affordable health care. A defensive strike early next year may very well prevent a major confrontation in June.”

In the third quarter 2002, GE had a record net profit of $4.1 billion, which puts the company on track to earn its stated goal of $16 billion in profits.

“There is no financial or competitive necessity for shifting a greater share of health care costs onto our active and retired members,” said Fire. “GE executives and top management, as well as former top officers such as Jack Welch, receive exorbitant compensation and outrageous perks. This cost shifting would inflame the already inequitable distribution of wealth between workers and executives, and be even more distressing on retirees living on fixed incomes.”

The strike resolution gives Chairman Smith, in consultation with President Fire, the authority to determine the timing and duration of any strike action. This would be the first national strike at GE since 1969.

IUE-CWA represents 50,000 active and retired members at GE. The national agreement expires in June 2003.

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