Union leaders at GE Transportation have offered a proposal of their own that would give the company some work rule changes it wants and promises to save $20 million a year for the next two years.
But the proposal submitted by Local 506 of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers makes some substantial demands that GE Transportation seems likely to resist.
The union's proposal says in broad terms that it would agree to change some work rules and attendance procedures. In exchange, the union asks GE to preserve all 950 jobs that it had planned to eliminate.
The union also has proposed that the company transform its new $95 million Fort Worth plant into an overflow facility that would be used only when the Erie plant is producing at capacity.
That proposal has received a chilly reception from company officials.
"Our initial view is that the proposal does not position GE Transportation for long-term success or help improve our competitive standing in the marketplace," the company said through a statement from spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson.
Erickson went on to say, "Our goal throughout these negotiations has been to preserve as many jobs as possible by making common sense changes that improve efficiency and ensure GE remains a partner in Erie for the long term."
That bargaining process, set to end Saturday, began April 9 when the company announced plans to eliminate 100 management and 950 union jobs at its century-old Erie plant. The company cited a decline in orders and what it called productivity issues at the local plant.
The decision bargaining process, required by contract, gives the union an opportunity to offer proposals that might reduce the number of planned cuts.
The union reacted negatively last week to a company proposal that called for a two-tier wage structure for new employees and asked the union to agree to mandatory overtime, job consolidations and restrictions on job movement and bidding.
The union's newsletter says its plan would save the company $20 million a year in 2013 and 2014 by correcting a parts-flow issue in the plant, reducing absenteeism and rearranging the break schedule. The union says some of the savings would come from "eliminating costly severance and retraining costs that would be caused by the job cutbacks, which GE proposed on April 9."
Although it didn't react directly to that point, GE Transportation would likely see the expense of severance pay and retraining assistance as one-time costs that would not be repeated.
The union also proposed the company invest in a state-of-the-art machining center at the Erie plant for the production of drive systems for off-highway mining trucks.
According to the union newsletter, "GE's investment for the new machining center would be matched by government funds, which the union is seeking to obtain."
Meanwhile, the union appears adamant that it will not accept a two-tier wage scale.
Wayne Burnett, business agent for the UE, was quoted by the union newsletter as saying: "It's insulting for the company to come after our wage increase after all the money our members have made for GE, especially in the last year when GE Transportation earned profits of more than $1 billion."
Despite the company's initial reaction to the union proposal, Erickson said the proposal would be reviewed in the bargaining process.
"We have been a fair and reasonable partner at the negotiating table," Erickson said in the statement. "In that spirit, we remain committed to good faith negotiations and are doing everything we can to address the competitive challenges our business is facing."
Source: GoErie.com
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