GE Transportation workers win Labor Department ruling
Transportation workers in Erie, Pennsylvania who are former GE Transportation workers have won the right to access Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits. The package includes retraining assistance, supplemental unemployment insurance, healthcare, and relocation benefits. The decision was made by the Federal Department of Labor and effects 950 jobs that were cut around April 2013. The decision was mired in unclear circumstances mainly because GE increased its payrolls at its Fort Worth plant for similar work during the same time the layoffs in Erie were happening. The petition filed by the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America argued that the layoffs occurred due to increased reliance by the company on parts and assembly in South Africa.
See "GE Transportation workers win Labor Department ruling", Jim Martin, GoErie.com, June 5, 2014