Financial disclosures reveal that GE's top five executives received $62.2 million in salaries, bonuses and other compensation in 2002. That's up from $38.8 million the previous year, a 60 percent pay hike. Jeffrey Immelt, above, is General Electric's CEO.

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For the first time, the IAM entered negotiations with General Electric Corporation outside the Coordinated Bargaining Committee (CBC), which includes a dozen other unions that have collective bargaining agreements with the multinational giant.

IAM Vice President Robert V. Thayer headed the IAM negotiating team for the talks, which opened June 9 in Waukesha, WI.

"We're focused on familiar issues," Thayer said. "Our members want job security, improved health care coverage and pension protections."

The IAM's Strategic Resources Department surveyed the 3,000 members at 20 GE locations and those issues topped the list in almost every instance, Thayer said.

Survey results found that members wanted a greater choice in doctors, fewer restrictions on managed care, smaller  co-pays and a better quality of care.

Research shows that healthcare quality is in critical condition, with 11 percent of all patients treated in physicians' offices suffering harm from the treatment.

Improving the quality of health care could prevent as many as eight deaths among GE's workforce and save the company as much as $4 million annually in unnecessary costs, Thayer explained.

At the same time, joint committees at the local level could monitor patient safety issues at regional hospitals and physician groups. These joint committees could also track costs and respond to member complaints about health benefits.

Long one of Wall Street's shiniest baubles, GE stock prices sank below $25 a share and its $15 billion profit fell below earlier estimates. Shoving more health costs onto its workers and keeping pensions down helped swell those corporate coffers, Thayer noted.

The company's financial performance didn't prevent its top executives from reaping huge benefits, however. Financial disclosures reveal that GE's top five executives received $62.2 million in salaries, bonuses and other compensation in 2002. That's up from $38.8 million the previous year, a 60 percent pay hike.

"That's not bad," Thayer said. "I expect our members could settle for those numbers. It's time for GE to share the wealth with the working men and women-and the retirees-whose skilled hands made those numbers possible."