In a report on "decision bargaining" issued to union members on October 21, UE Local 332 reports on meetings with GE representatives on October 16 and 17. The union is fighting against GE's announced "intent" to close the Fort Edward plant and move to Clearwater, Florida.
The company has provided the union insufficient information to properly bargain over this critical decision, and the union on October 18 filed an unfair labor practice charge (ULP) with the NLRB over GE's refusal to provide information.
But the union writes in its October 21 bulletin,"To move the process along and assess some of the confidential documents that GE did provide, UE asked Jim Schaffner, a forensic financial investigator to review that information.
Schaffner has 40 years of public practice experience and co-founded a mid-sized regional accounting firm, Schaffner, Knight, Minnaugh & Company, P.C. with headquarters in Erie, Pa.
The union bulletin continues, "Meeting with the company here in Ft. Edward on October 17, the financial investigator startled GE and its negotiators appeared visibly shaken when the independent financial analyst flatly told them: 'My professional opinion after 40 years … you have not made the case for moving to Clearwater...'”
While GE has claimed that it is hindered by the “cost structure” in Ft. Edward, Schaffner told the company that its claim is not supported by the documents it has supplied. Since 2009, according to Schaffner, GE’s costs to produce capacitors have declined. Total production costs, including labor costs, have actually fallen by 13 percent.
The bulletin adds, "In the 2011-2013 time span, Schaffner calculated that GE profits in Fort Edward increased significantly exclusive of 'assessments' allocated to Fort Edward by an undisclosed GE entity. The analyst further criticized GE for its failure to invest and modernize '1940s vintage equipment' and told company negotiators that profits could have been even greater in Fort Edward if GE had made the kind of investments that it now is contemplating at its Clearwater facility. He remarked, 'You have made the case that management needs to take a look at itself… this is a management problem, not 332’s problem.'"
You can read and download Local 332's complete bulletin by clicking the link below.
