GE Workers Vote to Join Union
May 8, 2007
Service shop workers in eastern Florida voted to join IUE-CWA May 2 in the first organizing victory at General Electric since 2000.
The 12 workers, who repair GE appliances, voted 9-3 in favor of joining the union despite being subject to GE's typical anti-union tactics, such as captive audience and one-on-one meetings.
"This is a great way to head into national negotiations," said IUE-CWA Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor, who met with the workers shortly before the vote.
Santamoor noted that if the Employee Free Choice Act had been law, the workers would not have been subject to GE's anti-union efforts since a majority of workers had signed cards indicating they wanted a union.
Under the act, when that occurs, no election is needed.
Prior to the May 2 election, the last organizing victory at GE was a service shop organized seven years ago in Ohio by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
