IAM Reaches Tentative Agreement at GE
IAM negotiators say a tentative agreement with General Electric “makes significant strides” in several important areas of concern to 2,800 IAM members working at 18 GE facilities across the nation.

“The IAM made major improvements in job security, health care and pensions, along with improvements in many other areas of the contract” said IAM Vice President Robert V. Thayer, who led the IAM bargaining team.

Thayer credited a “united membership and a dedicated negotiating committee with bringing negotiations to a successful conclusion and winning a contract that we all can be proud of. Our members on the shop floor stood strongly behind this committee. They made the difference.” 

A key factor in the successful bargaining was the training these committee members received at the Winpisinger Center, Thayer explained.  “The hands-on experience these representatives brought to the table, combined with the sharply-honed skills they learned at the Center was evident at every single session across the table and even more evident in the after-hours strategy sessions that are always a hallmark of negotiating experiences like this,” he said.

By a unanimous vote, the bargaining committee recommended that the agreement be adopted. Balloting will take place June 23-25.

For negotiations information, go to www.goiam.org