War on the Working Class: 1104 in Action!
A Rally was attended by about half a dozen CWA Local 1104 members who live around the hamlet of Fort Edward, NY on October 18th. Another GREEDY Corporation wages WAR on the Working Class. This small community approximately 50+ miles northeast of Albany was blind sided by a large corporation employing nearly 200 local people. General Electric (GE) is their name and Corporate GREED is their game. GE on average pays their unionized workers $26 - $27 per hour. And between 1947 and 1977 dumped 1.3 million pounds of PCB's (polychlorinated byphenyls) into the Hudson River running straight down to Manhattan.
GE announced the plant closing in September with plans to relocate its operation in Clearwater, Florida, a known Right-to-Work for less state. With this proposed move, GE not only abandons it's workers but will also devastate the local economy. Local small businesses will be dealt a serious blow. The State of New York economy will also feel it's effect and the trickle down will truly impact this hamlet in northern New York.
At the rally were several Unions and Community Groups. Several CWA Locals, IUE/CWA, PEF, AFSCME, OPEIU, Firefighters, Teachers, Teamsters, the Solidarity Committee, Central Labor Councils and many more attended. The labor community is aware that many lives are at stake.
Many thanks to the CWA 1104 members: Nancy Rivett, Jim Stowhas, Rick Bachand, Nicole Lashway, Kelly Chadwick and Gerry Ross for standing and walking with our Sisters and Brothers in UE Local 332! - Kim Young.
