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Union: GE to cut jobs in Erie
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GE isn’t cutting jobs in Ft Worth or Mexico.
It’s actually shortsightedness on managements part…or old school managing if that is more to your taste(aka: please the shareholders). In this day and age of the almost impossible task of finding qualified individuals for many of today’s jobs, it would be more prudent of a company to forego short term profits and instead focus on the long term picture, why you might ask. In what years it takes for the economy to really take off again, you will be in a hiring mode, and those new workers will need to be TRAINED to perform the tasks you hire them for(which costs money, lots of money). It would be less expensive to just reduce everyone’s total work hours and retain your entire skilled workforce for the inevitable return of business.
Gerald, you can also argue the same for the union. Heard an argument yesterday that UAW wants to start building upon its base compensation as 3% raise on base compensation means that the next 3% raise is bigger then the previous and so on. At some point you price yourself out of the picture or like you say, want the short term big gains. Take for what it is worth as I work with union crews all the time. As you note, having a skilled motivated craftsman is huge to productivity but I also see the opposite, a very well compensated individual that pushes things the other way.just because of the sense of entitlement
I think the greedy unions and the blovitated (is that a word? Looks good!) EPA should share the blame for the layoffs. The UFT/NEA, for not supplying decently educated ‘feedstock’.
The Erie plant supplies locos for the overseas market, but somehow the unions and the US EPA get blamed for the foreign companies cutting back on orders?
Did anyone not expect this when they moved production to a new plant in Ft. Worth? I would be interested in knowing the comparable wage rates at both plants.
I think it’s non union. But you would never be allowed to get away with that up here in the Great White North.
It doesn’t mention the big hiring being done at the Texas plant…Hmmmmmmmmmm
Gerald, you cannot simply “reduce everyone’s hours and keep all employed”. That’s not fair. What your asking for is guys with 5, 10, 25+ year’s of service to give up some of their pay so new hires don’t have to be furloughed. If the company wants to pay “guarantee” to everyone, as it is on most class 1 TYE extraboards, than that’s fine. But for pool TYE where everything is based on miles, it’s simply not fair to cut these senior employees wages so that new hires can stay employed. Furloughs in this industry have always been there, and will continue to be here. It’s just the nature of the business. If new hires don’t understand this or like it, try finding a job in another industry.
No layoffs seem to be in the offing for the engine plant at Grove City. Hmmm…
Hateful. GE shifted jobs and production from historic and loyal Erie workers to non-union newbies. Among the most profitable companies, taking away from skilled union workers means more cash to spread among unskilled execs. Loathsome.
Please explain who you know master technicians, mechanics, and electricians are “greedy.” $40-50/hr after 30 years and mastery is not greed. Execs who do far less and no history earned $400 hour. Who’s greedy. Stop yourself. Stupid anti-American worker comments sicken us all and reveal you to love the 1%.
@Lawrence Haws.: Why am I not surprised?
Last sentence leaves out the 2 most important words that explain everything: GE’s NON UNION plant near Fort Worth
Texas is a “right to work state” you can be hired or fired for any reason or no reason at all with any notice or no notice at all. On top of that left out of the story is the fact that much of the supply of parts and material comes from Mexico and in Texas it comes from 3rd party distribution warehouses. There is also a lot of componant manufacturing and assembling in Mexico where the average pay is $2.20 an hour with zero benifits.
“Right to work for less” state.