+ The only new item the last
The Voice of GE,
Vol. 9, No. 20.
Workers, local 301
ue ‘GENERAL ELECTRIC CONFERENCE BOARD MEETING
July 20, 1962,
is
‘Board held on June 25th and 26th,
. Contract Negotiations.
z
is subject: at that time to modifica
The current National Contract runs until September 29, 1963,
a
(
At the second quarterly meeting of the General: Electiic banterence 3
in Louisville,
took place on the issues eas will be of major.
ntucky, discussions
ntance in the 1963,
and
tion or termination, Negotiations
usually start a. couple of months prior to the above date so, therefore,
in about a year from now, the present provisions of the IUE~ GE Contract
will be subject to collective bargaining and change.
Us E. DISRUPTION IS NO SECRET
As the election of Officers of
Local 301 draws closer, we can ex=
pect more U.E, leaflets distributed
by. some of: their stooges.
The leaflets will mostly be.
anonymous because of the smears, ©
distortions of fact, and outright.
lies they will Carry. Occasionally
the. U,E,. will run a signed. leaflet
which will be on a slightly higher
level, but will carry the usual
theme song, "Come On .Over To My
House, and we will give“you every-
thing", -
If Rosemary Clooney signed
such a quib, there may be reason
for some attraction, but coming
from Fitzgerald and Matles there
doesn't seem tobe the same appeal.
The deliberate use of choice
’ words in anonymous leaflets, that
‘are intended to excite the average
Local 301 member, is one of U,E.'s
old tricks,.»SECRET, SPEED-UP, RE~
EVALUATION, WAGE CUT,RED CIRCLE,
_ DISCRIMINATION, FORCED, SHOCKED ,
OPPORTUNIST... these are only a few
we picked out of the last leaflet,
_ The ghost writers (a la U.E.) pick
out Cranes, Large Lathes, Incen-
tive Systems, and with a hashing
‘, description of a fictional story
* that would make Horatio Alger a
pikere
leaflet.came up with is a name they
cooked’ up for themselves, M.D.A.
Looks impressive, but when it is...
spelled outs *itsdoesn't smell sor
“goods MEMBERS: DISRUPTIVE ACTIVITY,
The Local 301 members have hadi
their share of these false promises
(cont'd reverse side)
« #
1963 negotiations.
me and Job. Security are
top issues, again, in the
The Income Ex~
tension Aid Plan, while an improve-
‘ment over what we had prior to the
1960-63 Contract, has proven itself
inadequate after nearly two years
of experience, in light of the lay-
hoffs and lack of steady work that
affected many GE. workers during
this period,
The more recent Steel settle-
ment and Auto agreements provide a
more adequate income to those emp-
loyees layed off or working short
time,
Contracting out of work was
another issue discussed by the Conf-~
erence Board delegates, that also
has a bearing on Job Security,
particularly, when the work can be
stows within the affected plant,
The
has been
and Auto
The Pénsion © Plan’ was also a
topic of lengthy discussion as being
j inadequate and does not provide for
“right to move with a job
incorporated in. the Steel
settlements.
ja standard of living that anyone can’
be proud of,
The Pension “Fund. has assets,
“according to our National Union, of
$1, 151, 0 7900 as of Dec. 31, 1961,
In 1961 the Company, employees,
and the.investment income amounted
to 90 million, while pension pay~
ments amounted to 324 million,
Therefore, it is clear that there is %)
enough money coming into the Pension”
Fund “to? poeekentdal ly increase Pen+
sion i Poe eS
The ques bor of Lesing cece Ul,
rights when out of work after
{cont tar’ ‘reverse side)
A a ‘ , . a
'*UsE. DISRUPTION (Cont'd) | . |GsE. CONF. BOARD MEETING (Cont'd):
As we look back, only 5 years ago, }2,%ears came up for serious discus=-
a. Slate-of Officers were elected ion, along with Toss of service if:
that kept our Local Union’in tur+. unemployed more than 3 years, It?
moil and internal fight for 2 yrs. |was the consensus of the delegates
It proved tobe a very costly ad~ [that these Company policies were”
venture for our membership. “, unjustifiable and’ should be eli
fay Oe ev anated, oo. bo
Now, if these so-called dedi-. | | 4
cated M.D.A, members would have the It was pointed out that Auto-
Courage to show their faces and jmation.in some plants, and new :
Speak upet: a Memkership meeting, equipment and methods in others
the Officers and Executive Board —, were.continually causing a loss of
members of IUE Local 301 would cer~! jobs, » ; ,
tainly appreciate the opportunity | OP eg ote “ae ‘
of proving hat they are unmiti-« : This matter has been brought
gated liar nsofar as the phony. |to the attention of the G,E, offi-
issues raised'in their“leaflets. ©j}cialdom in New York; whereby, the
pene es , . Union has suggested a joint comm-
~The Officers of Local 301 willlittee to make a study of technolog-
; Mever Say everything is satisfac-_ ical changes and redtiction of emp=
-.» tory and CK, because it never was’ |loyment opportunity...
and we don't expect it ever will beh |. a oo
a “oat a “fhe Company has..$8o0 far turned
Moreover, the fact that griev-|'this’ proposal down. This matter
ance meetings’ are going on in. hasbeen, gradually becoming a
various departments in the plant serious problem over the years,.
daily, whereby the Union is fight-*} ; " o ~
ing in behalf of our members, - UNEON- ANSWERS QUERTES ON OVERTIME
proves that our Union is continuale! © ’
. dy protecting the rights of our
‘members, -
To answer an-item which - °°,
appeared.in an anonymous leaflet’.
a ‘recently and several inquiries made ..
As Al Smith at one time said, | by our members regarding the Union's...»
"Let's look at the record": ~; position on. overtime, the following .
aa. § mid ° {is a portion ofan article which
1. Wages are among the highest in! appeared in our Local: 301 News .
» GE. chaing or UF Fe - tapproximately 8 months ago covering -
20 Working conditions are good, -| the Union's policy on this question:
because we keep them that way, 9 fo 8 °
3. Seniority Supplement equal to | "The Union and its leaders are:
or better than other supplements, ©| Cognizant of the law affecting con-..
4, Overtime.lowest itshas been certed action on refusal of over- °
during vacation ‘time in many years,| time, and we try to keep all the
9. Bargaining Unit Employment 662] representatives of the Union in=
higher than one year Agog: formed on these matters, and where
- - oa Union representatives find causal
These are 5 positive points of|overtime.is justified, they encour-
progress for Local 301 members, |age the members to cooperate. How-~-
at, 9 “ .. jever, individuals are not required.
- The "action boys" say be more {by law or contract to work beyond
militant...they mean more strikes, | their work schedule if ‘they have a
Well, the real. test of Union lead justified reasons to refuse, Overe
ership: is .to make ‘progress without | time results in ah inconvenience.
the néed of the strike weapon, to. employees. as’well-as extra cost
ae {due to premiums forthe employer,.
While we still need the right |In fact, the purpose’ of the over=
to strike, conscientious and dedi- | time premium was to discourage
cated Union leaders will not use j|overtime due to excess cost, Tes _
this weapon, in lieu of a bankrupt |was not intended to buy additional. —
ability to represent Union members,{hours of work, Therefore, an em=. —
and get their problems satisfactor-| ployee who is willing to work causal. ~
ily settled, ~ = “fovertime is doing so because he feels. ©
~—— SACTS TINE it to be absolutely necessary due
FACTS _ON UNEMPLOYMENT. to an emergency. His mind and
The unemployment situation in | conscience are clear because he is |
the Nation has reached a critical }not supporting a program that will
stage, There has been no signifi~ | lessen the opportunity for one of ~
» ant change in the rate of unem- . {his co-workers who has been laid |
“ployment within theipast 4 months, [Off of downgraded to return to his ©.)
", Yoel a on aoe {former job, And finally; he i
: The percentage ‘tf-unem nent} Willing to work the overtime. be»:
-based on the total work tome ee cause it resulted from a mutual
the Nation stands at 5.5 percent, |Woderstanding ‘and a»résponsible 9.
~The indications are that this rate [relationship between himself and ~~~
will a aka for the remain- [the boss.) ‘ OS
er of the year or move-somewha sand, direct action by ithe government -
higher unless there is immediate. . | to stimulate ‘the laggitig’Secovery
Ee oo gee! . from the 1960-61. recession, .
mn
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