What's next for GE and Erie?

GoErieBlogs.com wrote:Union leadership at GE Transportation never accepted the company’s premise that workers at a new GE plant in Fort Worth, Texas, were 20 percent more productive.

Now, Local 506 of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers says it has definitive proof that workers at the company’s century-old plant are actually more efficient than their counterparts in Texas.

The union announced this afternoon that a financial analysis conducted by the accounting firm of Schaffner, Knight, Minnaugh and Co. found that building a locomotive takes substantially more labor hours at the plant in Fort Worth than here in Erie.

Specifically, the firm’s James Schaffner concluded, “With respect to locomotive production, the Erie plant’s production (efficiency) is twice that of the Fort Worth facility at April 30, 2013.”

TribTown.com wrote:Officials say an all-day bargaining session failed to produce an agreement aimed at heading off the elimination of 950 union jobs at a century-old locomotive manufacturing plant in northwestern Pennsylvania.
. . .
GE Transportation officials said they sweetened their previous offer on Saturday evening, offering to increase from 375 the number of jobs saved in exchange for changes in work rules and a pay freeze and offering to reduce the wage freeze from three to two years.
. . .
Union president Scott Duke said a number of factors led the union to reject the company's proposal, including wages, mandatory overtime and the two-tier proposal.

Duke also said the union wasn't eager to reopen a contract not set to expire for another two years.

"We did everything we could," he said. "Our last proposal was going to save them $26 million, and they rejected it."

2nd quarter profits rise at GE Transportation

results released Friday as part of the General Electric Co.'s earnings report show that GE Transportation earned a $580 million profit through the first six months of 2013. That's 13 percent ahead of the record-setting pace set in 2012.

Duke said Friday that the company's record profits weaken its argument that cost-cutting measures are needed.

GoErie.com wrote:GE Transportation locomotives powered by natural gas could soon be appearing on railroads across the country.

But don't expect to see new natural gas locomotives rolling off the GE assembly lines in Erie or Fort Worth, Texas, anytime soon.

Instead, the company confirms it has begun a pilot program to build LNG, or liquefied natural gas, conversion kits that will be available to modify existing Evolution locomotives.

The kits would be built to power the 4,500-horsepower Evolutions already in service.

GoErie.com wrote:The first round of layoffs at GE Transportation is to take place Friday.

The company, Erie's largest employer, will lay off 21 people as of Friday, said Scott Duke, president of Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.

The company, which announced plans in April to eliminate 950 union positions, is expected to cut 500 positions by the end of this year. Of those, about 50 positions will be lost to retirement. The remainder, about 450 positions, will be eliminated by layoff.

Duke said the company expects to complete the 500 job cuts by Dec. 27.