NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co. said on Sunday it had reached tentative agreements on new four-year labor contracts with the national leaders of its two largest unions.þþGE said the tentative new agreements will provide significant improvements in wages, pensions and benefits, but declined to give more details as union members still had to be informed.þþGE said the agreements are subject to review by union negotiating committees and ratification by union members by June 28.þþThe tentative agreements were reached Sunday after four weeks of bargaining between GE and the IUE-CWA and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE).þþTerms of the new contracts will be extended to nine other unions that have local contracts with GE.þþThe 11 unions affected represent about 20,660 GE employees in the United States. GE is the world's second-largest company by market capitalization, behind Exxon Mobil Corp.þþGE's existing four-year national contracts with the IUE-CWA and the UE expire at midnight on Sunday.þþÿI think it's an agreement our members will recognize as a good one,ÿ said UE General President John Hovis in a statement.þþThe IUE-CWA/General Electric local union leaders will meet on Wednesday to submit the agreement to its members at GE for a ratification vote. The UE/GE Conference Board will meet on Tuesday to make a recommendation to its members.þþIf recommended for approval by union leaders, the ratification votes will be conducted by June 28. þþKEY ISSUESþþJob security, the cost of health care and retirement benefits were among the key issues on the table. GE employs about 330,000 people worldwide.þþDespite the lack of detail on the tentative agreements in Sunday's statement, IUE-CWA President Jim Clark said: ÿGE and the unions have agreed to accelerate our joint efforts to address the difficult health-care issues our nation faces.þþÿThis will help to address a critical issue for not only GE employees but all American workers.ÿþþAnd IUE-CWA GE Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor said that GE has agreed to allow its workers to honor U.S. veterans with the first new holiday in a decade, Veterans Day. ÿThis package is a huge victory for our members,ÿ said Santamoor.þþClark and Santamoor are recommending acceptance of the tentative agreement to the IUE-CWA negotiating committee and the conference board.þþGE Senior Vice President Bill Conaty said: ÿWe have achieved our goal of producing balanced contracts that benefit both employees and GE.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
