IUE-CWA Co-Hosts First General Electric Annual Stakeholders Meeting and Sounds Alarm on GE Practices Weakening Manufacturing Jobs

On Monday, IUE-CWA and the Coalition for Sustainable and Secure Energy and Aviation Manufacturing held the first General Electric (GE) Annual Stakeholders Meeting and called on GE to reinvest in U.S. manufacturing operations to fix domestic supply chain problems and strengthen its renewable energy and defense aviation divisions. CWA and IUE-CWA leaders and members, as well as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, and U.S. Senator Ed Markey, spoke at the event, as did leaders from Greenpeace USA, the U.S. military, and academic experts.

“Driven by Wall Street, General Electric is about to spend $2.5 billion to break up the company and $3 billion on new stock buybacks,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. “That’s $5.5 billion that is going to bankers and lawyers and middlemen instead of updating and expanding manufacturing facilities, paying good union wages, and making sure we are not dependent on other countries for the critical components of our green energy supply chain. IUE-CWA members are ready and eager to be part of the revitalization of American manufacturing. It’s time for GE to step up.”

We’re calling on GE to put the industrial future of America first, with a bold $5 billion investment in its U.S. manufacturing and an end to its offshoring and outsourcing, letting workers have a seat on the Board of Directors, and letting shareholders vote on the planned break-up,” said IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew. “GE workers are preparing for 2023 contract negotiations, and company executives should answer our call for a fair contract that protects good-paying union jobs and invests in our communities.”

The event sent a clear message that GE must focus on the fundamentals like the U.S. manufacturing operations vital to its long-term success, commit to building a sustainable domestic supply chain, and halting job cuts to American manufacturing plants. Click here for the full event video.