GE might build locomotives in Massachusetts (or not)

FYI - The first locomotive GE ever built was in Lynn, MA according to this website. The year was 1893.

Back to the present day...
Going by this blog site, Lynn, MA is the location of choice for GE right now. Someone also mentioned that Indiana could be another possible location.
If I understand this site correctly it looks as though the union is a big factor in this and are pushing for the Lynn Plant location.
Supposedly there has been and article written about this in Trains Magazine but I don't get that magazine anymore, so I can't check it.

http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/artic ... news02.txt

well, that seems like good news.

Latest news:

The Daily Item wrote:General Electric representatives and International Union of Electrical Workers Local 201 negotiators have traded proposals for the past week aimed at bringing excess locomotive production work at GE’s transportation division plant in Erie, Penn. into the River Works.

If the negotiations produce a deal, GE will reopen the gear plant off the Lynnway it closed last year.

Read more at: http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/artic ... news06.txt

GE decides not to pursue Lynn; now looking at Texas:

GoErie.com wrote:GE Transportation won't be shipping overflow locomotive assembly work to an existing General Electric Co. plant in Lynn, Mass., but it will continue to look at manufacturing sites outside Erie County.

The company's primary focus shifts now to an existing manufacturing location in Texas that is not owned by GE, said Stephan Koller, a spokesman for the company.

Read more at: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art ... EWSSITEMAP

Here is a link to the story in Friday's Lynn Item.
http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/artic ... news02.txt

John, the guy in the white car with the wing on back

The union is to blame for this. One guy is quoted at making $33 an hour and can barely get by? I too think the GE offering of $18 to $22 an hour was a bit low but I'm sure GE was expecting to negotiate with the union; instead the union refused to budge and this is the end result.

b&m 1566 wrote:One guy is quoted at making $33 an hour and can barely get by?

I noticed that as well. $33/hour works out to $63,360 a year, based on a 40-hour work week (before taxes and insurance deductions -- his take-home might be less than $50,000 a year). That's great money, as far as I'm concerned as someone who is single and doesn't have to support any other human beings... but if he's got two or three kids and a mortgage, and maybe he's trying to put one of his kids through college, it's entirely possible that he's barely scraping by on that wage.

No matter the reason, it's very disappointing that this work won't be coming to Massachusetts.

Right but the change in pay wouldn't have effected him, it would have effected new hires. As a new hire, your responsible to weigh your options, it's not the other way around.

more at :
http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news ... -3040.html

It still would have beat working at EMD, who only pays $14-$18 an hour:

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art ... /304159868

Apparently Gov. Patrick isn't ready to give up on bring GE to Lynn:

The Daily Item wrote:Gov. Deval Patrick told The Daily Item Tuesday he is working to keep General Electric officials and labor representatives talking about bringing locomotive assembly jobs to the River Works.

"I've not given up on that. We're trying to keep the parties talking," Patrick said during an interview...

Read more at: http://itemlive.com/articles/2011/05/25/news/news01.txt

Unfortunately, that ship has already sailed........to Ft. Worth

Right, but Gov. Patrick seems to think he pull that ship back to Lynn.

In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, "Good luck with all that!"

Somebody ought to clue the governor in before he makes a bigger fool of himself. GE has discovered that they can make business decisions in Texas without consulting the union - at all.

Demolition of the USN Gear Works building east of the tracks at River Works has begun.