GE workers push for union in Ala.

AUBURN, Ala. - Workers at a General Electric factory in Alabama launched an effort to form a union on Aug. 22 joining a wave of recent organization efforts at national companies. Workers at the 179-employee GE Aviation plant in Auburn submitted union cards to the Birmingham office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in an organization effort with IUE-CWA. Is part of a national effort to organize at GE plants across the country and amid efforts at other major firms like Amazon and Starbucks. To qualify for a union election, the NLRB requires signatures from 30% of eligible voters at a specific facility. The IUE-CWA indicated more than 50% of workers signed cards but provided no exact numbers. GE employs more than 55,000 Americans, pays competitive wages in every community it operates and has invested more than $1B in U.S. facilities since 2016, GE responded. The effort at GE follows a union election at an Amazon facility in Bessemer, Ala., which are still being contested. The Biden administration has supported efforts to boost unionization campaigns at major employers. (Source: The AP 08/22/22) Regional Notes: The Auburn plant produces machined parts for jet engines. It opened in 2013. In 2014, a $50M expansion was announced to allow the factory to mass produce, via 3D printing, fuel nozzles for jet engines. In Mississippi, GE Aviation has two plants at Batesville and Ellisville. At the latter plant, workers manufacture composite components for aircraft engines and systems. The Batesville facility employs 300 workers. The two sites represent a $150M by GE in aviation technology by the end of decade. GE workers in Alabama seek union | WJTV