GE Workers Rally with European Union Workers On May Day in Boston Area, Urging Long-Term Workforce Investment Amid Company Split

IUE-CWA GE Workers Celebrate New Union Contract, Securing 12% Pay Raise and Strong Protections for Union Rights and Workers Ahead of GE’s Aviation and Energy Business Spinoff in 2024

International Delegation of GE Workers Joins Forces with IUE-CWA GE Workers, Commiting to Global Solidarity and Collective Efforts to Secure Good-Paying Manufacturing Jobs at GE

LYNN, MA – On May Day, IUE-CWA, the largest union for GE workers in the U.S., organized a national rally to celebrate the ratification of a new 2-year union contract, while beginning to prepare for the future. The contract, which achieved a significant 12% pay raise, contains crucial union protections amid GE’s planned 2024 spinoff of its aviation and energy businesses.

The event not only celebrated the major victories in the new GE national contract for U.S. workers, but also highlighted the joint global efforts by GE workers to mobilize for strong workforce investments and labor rights in the coming years.

The rally was attended by IUE-CWA Local 201 members from GE’s Lynn aviation plant, along with IUE-CWA GE workers from Kansas, Kentucky, and New York, as well as an international delegation of GE union workers from Italian plants that directly supply its U.S. operations. On Saturday the U.S. delegations from IUE-CWA and the Italian delegation from FIOM-CGIL trade union convened in a private meeting to compare notes on GE restructuring and discuss further cooperation.

Atle Hoie, the General Secretary of IndustriALL, the global confederation of manufacturing unions, sent a letter of congratulations to IUE-CWA for its recent contract achievements and in support of more coordination between unions at General Electric plants across the globe. Both IUE-CWA and FIOM-CGIL are affiliates of IndustriALL.

GE, a major U.S. and global employer, is splitting into two separate companies: GE Aerospace and GE Vernova – its energy businesses. The upcoming changes have spurred union workers from various nations to unite and prepare to tackle the uncertainties from the split together.

On Tuesday standing together and holding signs that said “Solidarity Makes Us Strong,” the GE worker delegations from the U.S. and abroad closed the day by participating in the community-wide May Day march, held by the North Shore Labor Council, civic and community groups, and unions in Lynn, MA.

The May Day rally and the overwhelming ratification of a new union contract with GE is a testament to the unwavering strength and determination of IUE-CWA members in fighting for a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities. Looking ahead, the union is committed to advocating for job security, new investment, affordable healthcare, retirement security, and fair pay for all GE workers. As the hardworking men and women who make GE a success, they are determined to ensure that their rights and contributions are valued and supported by the company they benefit.

President of IUE-CWA Carl Kennebrew:
“Today, we celebrate the ratification of our new national GE contract, which delivers a significant win for our members’ job security and includes significant pay raises. I give credit to our mobilized union members, whose tireless efforts made this achievement possible. I am optimistic about what more we can accomplish as we build bridges with other unions abroad in our mission to secure fair wages and better working conditions, reflecting the importance of global solidarity in today’s economy.”

IUE-CWA National Chair of the GE Conference Board Jerry Carney:
“Today, GE workers from across the country celebrated their newly ratified union contract and are preparing for the future, as they successfully secured wage increases, job security, and maintained their contractual rights during the company’s split into two entities. We plan to continue organizing and mobilizing to improve the lives of GE workers everywhere. And we are thankful to be standing here with our brothers and sisters from Italian Union FIOM CGIL, and thankful for their support and that of IndustriALL. We are pioneering a new era of global solidarity among GE union workers.”

IUE-CWA Local 201 President Adam Kaszynski (Massachusetts):
“The success of our new GE contract highlights the power of our union members to organize for better pay and job security. As vital components of our military supply chain, GE Lynn aviation workers will keep demanding an end to outsourcing. We deserve to be recognized for the essential role we play in national security. We are proud to welcome our GE Avio Aereo brothers from Italy and look forward to building a strong relationship with them and other GE Aerospace unions to defend good wages, jobs and high standards at General Electric Aviation.”

IUE-CWA Member Christian Gonzalez (New York) and Member Mobilizer:
“What we have in our hand today is the fruit of a lot of hard work by all of us coming together in our shops and across the country. We mobilized, met after work, reached out to our communities, learned new skills, and built a deeper movement. This accomplishment is the culmination of a multi-year campaign by thousands of GE IUE-CWA workers across the nation. Now, it’s time to savor the win and then continue on because there is more we have to do and more road to cover. I am excited for what comes next.”

Marcello Scipioni and Alessandro Pellegrini, FIOM-CGIL Union Leaders (Italy):
“Solidarity is what gives us strength. We congratulate US IUE-CWA GE workers, who have taken an important step toward building a stronger foundation for the future of these jobs. In a global economy, building strong relationships between all workers is more important than ever and we are honored to join IUE-CWA members in the fight for all workers’ rights. We look forward to continuing our relationship.”

Atle Hoie, IndustriALL General Secretary:
“IndustriALL Global Union, representing more than fifty million workers in the mining, energy and manufacturing industries in 141 countries, expresses our full support with IUE-CWA members at GE. In these challenging times of industrial transformation, it is more important than ever to be united. Furthermore, as companies are global, our response needs to be global too. This approach calls for strengthening our global trade union networks, particularly as GE will split into two companies: GE Vernova and GE Aerospace.”

BACKGROUND:

The new GE national contract celebrated at today’s rally is the result of a national, multi-year campaign by thousands of GE IUE-CWA workers, including the historic October 2022 national unity rally in New York, which marked the largest multi-state action by GE workers in years. Union workers across facilities in Kansas, Kentucky, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and beyond have mobilized on the shop floor, collaborated with community allies and elected officials, and demonstrated the collective power of GE’s unionized workforce.

IUE-CWA members were joined by an international delegation from Rivalta di Torino Avio Aero GE plant unions in Italy, a direct supplier to the Lynn, MA plant. The delegation included Alessandro Pellegrini, a worker representative from GE Avio Aereo plant in Rivalta, and Marcello Scipioni, a national officer for FIOM-CGIL. IUE-CWA is a proud member of IndustriALL, a confederation of manufacturing unions across the globe, which also voiced their support for today’s rally.