Louisville: the strongest bridge broke down: lives destroyed….. more details ⬇️⬇️
In anticipation of contract negotiations, hundreds of employees of GE Appliances in Louisville, Kentucky, who
manufacture refrigerators, washers, dryers, and other home appliances, staged a protest on September 14. At the end of the year, their contract, which covers 5,200 people, ends. Out of the nine GE Appliances production locations across the nation, this cluster of plants, dubbed Appliance Park, is the only one that is unionized and serves as the company’s global headquarters. Bargaining for the union, which is a component of the Communications Workers’ industrial division, begins on October 14. Despite being a “right-to-work” state, over 90% of the workers at the plant are union members.
According to a union survey, 98% of IUE-CWA members were eager to go on strike; therefore, the union is advising members to put money aside for a struggle. At the gathering, Driskell advised attendees, “You have to be prepared.” “So, put everything you can save—pennies, nickels, and dimes—into a jar.” MANY GIVEBACKS AND FIVE TIERS In 2016, General Electric sold its appliance division to Haier, the largest home appliance maker in the world, a Chinese company. Major brands in Europe and Asia are also owned by Haier. Since the 1950s, this plant has been unionized. However, the workers lost many contractual rights in 2017 during their initial discussions with GEA, a company owned by Haier, including overtime after eight hours (currently it’s paid after 40 hours in a week).
GEA was in dire financial circumstances before Haier purchased it, particularly following the start of the global financial crisis. Appliance Park wage freezes occurred in 2008, 2010, and 2016–2017. However, after taking over from its previous owners, GEA has increased its income by double, created 4,000 new manufacturing jobs in the United States, and reorganized its supply chain to boost inventory turnover, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. With revenues of $11.3 billion, up 4.1 percent, the company maintained its growth in its share of the home appliances market last year. According to the corporation, half of all American homes have one of its appliances.
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