What's next for GE and Erie?

Ouch.

From GoErie.com:

GoErie.com wrote:GE Transportation is eliminating as many as 950 jobs at its Lawrence Park plant and moving that work to Fort Worth, Texas.

That move was confirmed this morning by Lorenzo Simonelli, the company's chief executive.

Simonelli and other officials left open the possibility that the size of the transfers could change based on possible union negotiations.
. . .
This move comes just weeks after the first Evolution locomotive was completed at the company's new Texas plant.

Read more at: http://www.goerie.com/article/20130409/ ... ut-of-Erie

And for further discussion, please visit this thread: GE Moving Evolution Locomotive Production to Texas

From GoErie.com:

GoErie.com wrote:GE Transportation is eliminating as many as 950 jobs at its Lawrence Park plant and moving that work to Fort Worth, Texas.

That move was confirmed this morning by Lorenzo Simonelli, the company's chief executive.

Simonelli and other officials left open the possibility that the size of the transfers could change based on possible union negotiations.
. . .
This move comes just weeks after the first Evolution locomotive was completed at the company's new Texas plant.

Read more at: http://www.goerie.com/article/20130409/ ... ut-of-Erie

From the Forth Worth Star-Telegram:

Star-Telegram wrote:General Electric plans to cut 950 jobs at a Pennsylvania locomotive plant, wiping out most of the site's recent employment growth, as it shifts some production to a lower-cost factory in Fort Worth.

The reductions are slated to start in six months pending a 60-day period of talks with union leaders, said Lorenzo Simonelli, head of GE's transportation unit. The Fort Worth plant, located just west of the Texas Motor Speedway, is about 20 percent more efficient than GE's Erie, Penn., facility, which is more than 100 years old.

"Cost is becoming more and more of a factor," Simonelli said in an interview. "We've got to match our competition and that's what we're trying to do."

Read more at: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/09 ... -fort.html

Sobering news for the entire Erie area.....The talk of the demise of the Erie Plant (going to Texas, etc.) has been going on for years. If you hear something so much, like a major earthquake may come some day in the future to your area, a person tends to zone it out. For me, last November, when visiting of what remains of ALCO's facility....literally a handful of buildings at the plant surrounded by vast open brown fields complete with old rusted chain link fences.....I couldn't help wondering if this would be GE in Lawrence Park (Erie) some day in the near future.....This is only Phase 1 of the transfer to Texas, I'm afraid. A corporation's profit is the bottom line, so between a new, non-union facility vs a 100 year old, union one the scale is completely tipped to Texas........Erie is going to experience what London, Ont. recently did, along with so many other one major industry towns and cities (Youngstown, Ohio, etc), sad to say. The local politicians will still toot the horn of how great tourism is, but living in a tourist town isn't as great as being one visiting.



XC

This move is a "no brainer". Texas is a "right-to-work" state. Unions will not be able to blackmail the company by threatening strikes. I do hope that GE offers many of the workers a chance to transfer down here. Texas is a great place to live and work, with a low cost of living. I think they would really like it here.
Jeff

Unfortunately, I can't think of anyone that has gone to Texas from PA that has stayed and liked it. All that I know have come back and have nothing good to say.

mowingman wrote:This move is a "no brainer". Texas is a "right-to-work" state. Unions will not be able to blackmail the company by threatening strikes. I do hope that GE offers many of the workers a chance to transfer down here. Texas is a great place to live and work, with a low cost of living. I think they would really like it here.
Jeff

Sir, your comments are those of a no-brainer. It is the management of these companies that extort all kinds of freebies and give-backs from the locales in which they operate...only to fold their tent when the first opportunity arises for something better.

I have a feeling that Simonelli (who could give a rats ass about Erie or PA or...) lied on multiple occasions to gain an outcome which would positively influence HIS compensation. All he cares about !!!

Way too much to ask,but-wonder what would happen if the state of PA investigated the entire move...in search of FRAUD ?

Like it or not, companies are moving to 'right to work' states, and even many northern states are changing their laws for 'right to work' as well. The unions have overplayed their benefits packages, including "cadillac" health care coverages vis a vis what the
rest of the working class get's these days. The competitive cost analyses tell the story, when competing against imports particularly.
Unions trying to politically 'hold the line' is more and more falling on deaf ears.

GE does not have caddilac health care plans. Better get the facts straight. New hires also have no pension. Union or not, hourly or salary. Unless you are in upper management, then the sky is the limit.

How can one compete with a country, like China for instance, that has no regard for the enviroment or it's workers? They dump products here at less than the value of the materials alone. It's our government that has caused the complete destruction of our manufacturing base by letting this go on, not the unions.

The 20% productivity gain at the new site seems pretty hard to believe considering that they have only built about 14 locomotives over a 6 month period. And that is with only one type of locomotive, not any variation, which tends to slow things down a little.

Transportation is coming off a record profits year led by Erie. Was also named "GE Business of the Year for 2012" in January and this is their reward.

I refer you to http://www.ge.com/union-negotiations/re ... June22.pdf
a LOT more increases and benefits than the general public has gotten or will get over the same time period/s.

CarterB wrote:Like it or not, companies are moving to 'right to work' states, and even many northern states are changing their laws for 'right to work' as well. The unions have overplayed their benefits packages, including "cadillac" health care coverages vis a vis what the
rest of the working class get's these days. The competitive cost analyses tell the story, when competing against imports particularly.
Unions trying to politically 'hold the line' is more and more falling on deaf ears.

For what it is worth, no one is required to belong to the union at the Erie plant, that is a big misconception that many are not aware of. That being said, I personally do not know of anyone that doesn't. As far as health care goes, for a family of three, I pay a weekly contribution of approximately $50, which I don't think anyone would complain about. There is also a spouse coverage penalty which means if your spouse is not a GE employee and is offered insurance which is denied and said spouse is covered under the employees insurance, you pay a weekly penalty. If memory serves, was $30 a week. Now, the first $2K in medical cost, including prescriptions comes out of the employees pocket (GE does give employees a funded HRA account which varies depending on the plan chosen and number of dependents which averages $900 annually). After that threshold is met, insurance pays 80% and employee pays 20% as long as you stay within plan provider list for the next $12.5K. The plan covers 100% of medical expenses ones you exceed $14.5K annually. So assuming one passes that threshold, the medical insurance cost would be as follows:
annual contributions:$50 x 52 weeks=$2600
spouse penalty (if applicable):$30 x 52=$1560
initial deductible: $2000-$900=$1300
20% of $12.5K=$2500
total cost= $7960 annual cost to employee for medical expenses totaling $14,500.00 which is about $3.85 per hour cost. That is roughly 12.7% of the average wage earned at the Erie plant. My point trying to be made is not that I am complaining, I just would not call this a Cadillac health care plan, IMHO.

I'm surprised more people don't pressure their elected officials to throw out right to work (scab) legislation.


I'd like to apply at Walmart, while on vacation. Let them try to get me to sign that I will not join a union. Better yet, I'll wear my BLE/Teamster t shirts.

From LaborNotes.org:

LaborNotes.org wrote:Locomotive builders in Erie, Pennsylvania, are rallying today to demand that General Electric stop the transfer of nearly a third of the plant’s jobs to a non-union, lower-wage factory in Texas.

The three actions—one for each shift—follow the profitable factory’s April 9 announcement that 950 union jobs would be moved to what GE had called an “overflow" plant in Ft. Worth.

Read more at: http://www.labornotes.org/2013/05/locom ... e%E2%80%99" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Op-ed by Tom Ridge:

Tom Ridge at GoErie.com wrote:For more than a century, Erie has proudly served as the hub of manufacturing for GE Transportation's locomotives. We all know that the best locomotives in the world are made right here at home in Pennsylvania.

In recent years, the company has invested millions of dollars in its manufacturing facilities, in our people around town and in our community as a whole. However, global pressures from all directions now challenge GE in new ways.
. . .
Of even more concern, in the past few months it has been reported that two GE customers have decided to buy a competitor's locomotive instead of GE's.
. . .
A weakened GE Transportation means a weakened Erie and a weaker Pennsylvania. Because of that, I think it is important for the workers, the company and the Erie community to work as partners. To thrive in the competitive environment of the 21st century, labor and management must understand that the ultimate adversary isn't seated across the bargaining table, it's competing in the global marketplace.

Read more at: http://www.goerie.com/article/20130618/ ... eaken-Erie" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;