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It's Time to |
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Sweeten GE Cola!
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Our cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is vital if we ever want to improve our standard of living.
Why? Because COLA is needed to safeguard our general wage increases from being eaten up by inflation. But GE workers are still
losing out every time prices rise. And as inflation accelerates, our losses will get bigger and our COLA will leave an
increasingly sour taste.
THE 40% SOLUTION
Although the COLA formula was improved in the 2000 negotiations, (to 1 cent for each 0.1% rise in the Consumer
Price Index), it still covers us for less than half against the effects of inflation. And because we have no COLA of any
kind for the last 3½ months of the Contract, were reduced to only 40% overall protection against price increases. Any
COLA that only pays 40 cents on the dollar is in bad need of sweetening! Heres the bitter result:
| Time Period |
GE COLA
Payout |
COLA Needed
to Maintain
Purchasing
Power |
Loss to
GE Workers |
| June '00 thru Oct. '00 |
8 cents |
17 cents |
9 cents |
| Oct. '00 thru Apr. '01 |
16 cents |
34 cents |
18 cents |
| April '01 thru Oct. '01 |
3 cents |
7 cents |
4 cents |
| Oct. '01 thru Apr. '02 |
10 cents |
22 cents |
12 cents |
| Apr. '02 thru Oct. '02 |
8 cents |
18 cents |
10 cents |
| Oct. '02 thru Feb. '03 |
10 cents |
23 cents |
13 cents |
| Feb. '03 thru June '03 |
0 |
22 cents* |
22 cents |
| TOTALS |
55 cents |
$1.44 |
88 cents |
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*projected
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GE workers stand to lose about 88 cents an hour in just the last three years because of our
inadequate COLA. And thats on top of the 90 cents we lost during the 1997-2000 Contract. Its high time we put
some flavor back into GE COLA.
We Need a COLA Formula
That Gives Us Full Protection
Against Price Increases!
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
One Gateway Center Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412-471-8919
www.ranknfile-ue.org
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