General Electric & Two Largest Unions Reach Tentative Agreement

General Electric Co. and its two largest labor unions reached tentative agreements Sunday on contracts. The agreements are four year deals and are now subject to ratification. The 11 unions affected by these tentative agreements represent approximately 20,660 GE employees in the U.S.

Negotiations between GE and its unions have been watched nationally for insight as to how the company would be handling issues such as pensions and rising health care costs. If recommended for approval by union leadership, a ratification vote will take place on June 28. The current four-year national contracts expired Sunday.

"We have achieved our goal of producing balanced contracts that benefit both employees and GE," said Bill Conaty, the company's senior vice president, in a statement issued jointly with union leaders and quoted by Stephen Singer. "These agreements provide employees with good wages and excellent benefits while allowing GE businesses to continue competing in tough global markets."

GE was negotiating with member unions of the Coordinated Bargaining Committee of General Electric Unions (CBC). The CBC was formed in the late 1960's with the express purpose of coordinating and enhancing each union's collective bargaining strength at GE. The agreements cover over 14,000 members of two unions: the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine, and Furniture Workers - Communications Workers of America and the United Electrical Radio & Machine Workers of America. Nine other unions, representing over 6,500 other workers, were offered terms similar in nature.

The specifics on wages, pensions, and benefit plans were not included in the released tentative agreements. However, union leaders said the contracts accelerate joint efforts to address health care issues, add Veterans Day as a holiday and include provisions to help workers with shorter service. According to the CBC website, Veteran's Day is the first new holiday in a decade.