GE workers in Alabama seek union
Workers at a General Electric factory in Alabama on Monday launched an effort to form a union, joining a wave of recent labor organization efforts at large national companies. Workers at the 179-employee GE Aviation plant in Auburn, Alabama, submitted union cards to the Birmingham office of the National Labor Relations Board in an organization effort with IUE-CWA. They said it is part of a national effort to organize at GE plants across the country and comes amid unionization efforts at other large companies like Amazon and Starbucks. A spokeswoman for the National Labor Relations Board confirmed the regional office received the union petition Monday. To qualify for a union election, the NLRB requires signatures from 30% of eligible voters at a specific facility. The IUE-CWA indicated that more than 50% of workers signed cards but did not provide an exact number. Two plant workers supporting the effort told The Associated Press, in interviews arranged by union supporters, that pay, the attitude of management toward workers, and benefits are among the driving concern of workers. “We need our voices to be heard,” Marcus Durrell, who has worked at the plant for seven years, said in a telephone interview. He said experienced workers at the plant earn less than workers at other GE facilities. “We want better pay, better benefits, just having a seat of the table,” Donna Rawlinson, 46, said. Rawlinson, who said she is on short-term disability while undergoing breast cancer treatments, said morale at the plant has declined over the years. “They keep pushing. They want more, but they don’t give anything,” she said. The company issued a statement in response to the filing. “GE employs more than 55,000 Americans, pays competitive wages in every community in which we operate, and has invested more than a billion dollars in our U.S. facilities since 2016, including in Auburn. We are committed to a direct relationship with our employees based on teamwork, cooperation, and actively pursuing mutually beneficial goals.. The effort at GE follows a union election at an Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, the results of which are still being contested. Labor unions appear to be having a resurgence of interest after decades of decline. Just 10.3% of workers belonged to unions in 2021, down from 20.1% in 1983, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unionization campaigns have gained momentum recently, with workers launching efforts at Amazon, Starbucks, and other large companies. The Biden administration has also supported efforts to boost unionization campaigns at major employers. “GE workers in Alabama are sending a powerful message by coming together to form a union for the better pay, benefits, and job security they have earned. Across the country at giant corporations like Amazon and Starbucks, CEOs are getting a wake-up call from workers making their voices heard,” IUE-CWA Conference Board Chairman Jerry Carney said in a statement announcing the effort at the GE plant. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Toyota changes stand, halts donations to election objectors
Toyota has reversed itself and now says its political action committee will no longer contribute to the Republican legislators who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. The move by the Japanese automaker comes after a social media backlash over the contributions, including threats to stop buying the company’s vehicles. “We understand that the PAC decision to support select members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders,” Toyota said in a statement Thursday. “We are actively listening to our stakeholders, and at this time, have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election.” Last week the website Axios reported that Toyota led companies in donations to the 147 members of Congress who voted in January against certifying election results on the false grounds that the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. The Axios report, based on data gathered by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that Toyota donated $55,000 to 37 Republican objectors this year. That number was more than double the amount donated by the second-highest donor, Cubic Corp., a defense contractor in San Francisco, Axios said. Toyota will not seek refunds of contributions it already has made, spokesman Scott Vazin said Thursday in an email. He said the company hasn’t decided if or when it will resume the contributions. Immediately after Toyota’s spending was reported, the company defended it, saying it did not believe it’s appropriate to judge legislators based only on their electoral certification vote. The company took input from employees and government officials, Vazin said. But the most important factor was customer feedback, he said. “That really drives our decision making,” he said. Contribution data showed that 34 companies donated at least $5,000 to the campaigns and leadership political action committees of one or more election objectors this year, Axios reported. In addition to criticism on Twitter and elsewhere, the Lincoln Project, a group opposed to Trump, released an internet ad urging people to call Toyota to get the company to stop contributing to the GOP members of Congress. Shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, dozens of big companies, citing their commitment to democracy, pledged to avoid donating money to the 147 lawmakers. It was a striking gesture by some of the most familiar names in business but was largely an empty one. Six months later, many of those companies have resumed funneling cash to political action committees that benefit the election efforts of lawmakers whether they objected to the election certification or not. Walmart, Pfizer, Intel, General Electric, and AT&T are among companies that announced their pledges on behalf of democracy in the days after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a violent bid to disrupt the transfer of power. The companies contend that donating directly to a candidate is not the same as giving to a PAC that supports them. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Oui oui: Kay Ivey to visit Paris Air Show on French trade mission
Gov. Kay Ivey will visit France this week on a trade mission to highlight Alabama companies and (hopefully) bring more business to the state. Ivey will attend the Paris Air Show — the world’s oldest and largest aerospace event, which begins Monday — Ivey will meet with global businesses, joined by delegations from across Alabama. As the Alabama Political Reporter notes, meetings with delegations will be a combination of one-on-one and group settings. “Recruiting new businesses to Alabama and encouraging the ones we already have to expand requires the building of meaningful relationships,” said Ivey press secretary Eileen Jones. Attracting over 2,000 exhibitors from across the globe, the Paris Air Show will feature some Alabama and other U.S. companies. “Governor Ivey will use her time in Paris to build a rapport with aerospace industry leaders so as to build a comfortable, working relationship with them,” Jones added. “These relationships have proven, in the past, to be key to landing important economic development projects in Alabama.” Traveling with the governor will be Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield and Commerce Department Staff. “Recruiting industry to our state takes great amounts of time and effort; a business doesn’t decide overnight to relocate to Alabama,” Jones told the Political Reporter. One key Alabama project that came from the Paris Air Show was General Electric Co.’s Aviation additive manufacturing facility in Auburn, which started with talks that began at the 2013 event. Ivey leaves Friday and returns Wednesday.
