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UE
- Leading the Way In Y2K |
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UE-GE
National Negotiations 2000 |
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Waging
a Struggle |
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Despite
Jack Welch’s recent statement (or rather understatement) that
General Electric is in a position to be "generous" with
employees this year, GE workers can be forgiven for being skeptical.
Many of us are struggling merely to maintain a decent standard
of living. In most cases we have become absolutely dependent on
either overtime or a working spouse or both to make
ends meet.
Now the
Company is saying that they will again make a presentation during
upcoming contract negotiations on the subject of "compensation".
What this has meant in the past is lots of data about the wages
of so-called "competitors", as well as various slop shops GE
digs up to justify a miserly wage proposal. It could also signal
another attempt to impose "lump sum" payments in lieu of
structural wage increases, or perhaps even another attack on our 10%
night shift bonus as happened in 1994.
But on
the subject of wages, keeping a few basic facts in mind should
help bring "Generous Electric" to light. |
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| FACT |
GE
workers will realize only about a 1.6% increase in real
wages per year on average before taxes during the term of the present
Contract. Only unusually low levels of inflation, which now shows signs
of accelerating, kept us from faring even worse. |
| FACT |
By
contrast, GE’s net profits last year amount to a "wage" for
the company of $1.2 Million an hour, 24 hours a day, 365
days a year. That’s double what they netted just six years ago. |
| FACT |
Each
GE worker is producing on average over $31,000 in net profits for the
Company. That’s over two and one half times as much as
any real or imagined competitor, foreign or domestic. |
| FACT |
Based
on a 2,080 hour year, the average GE worker is running close to $2.00
an hour short of what the Bureau of Labor Statistics has determined
is necessary to live on a "moderate" budget. |
| FACT |
In
just the past three years, GE spent $51 Billion in acquisitions alone.
If GE divided up just $1 Billion in equal shares to each employee
represented by a union in the Coordinated Bargaining Committee (CBC), everyone
would get a check for about $27,000. |
Our
Labor is What Creates GE’s Wealth in the First Place.
A Greater Share of That Wealth is Rightfully Ours.
WE
NEED SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL
GENERAL WAGE INCREASES
IN EACH YEAR OF THE CONTRACT
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