General Electric just spun off its century-old railroad division to Wabtec. Factory workers immediately went on strike to protest the new owner's push for mandatory overtime and pay cuts for new hires.
, received $2.9 billion in cash as well as a 24.9% stake in Wabtec. GE shareholders also received Wabtec shares in the deal.Wabtec pushed for a number of significant changes, including the introduction of mandatory overtime, arbitrary schedules, wage cuts of up to 38% for recalled and new workers, and the right to use temporary workers, according to the union.
"The plant has been highly profitable under the existing GE contract," Jonathan Kissam, UE's communications director, told CNN Business in an email on Tuesday."It's really not clear to us why Wabtec is demanding such steep concessions." "They are unwilling to sell out their own children by agreeing to a permanently lower wage for new hires," he said.Wabtec, formerly known as Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, emphasized that the company's offer would preserve wages for current employees at $35 an hour.She added that Wabtec is only asking for"reasonable" scheduled overtime"when necessary to meet a customer commitment.
"The American people are sick and tired of corporate America and their wealthy CEOs ripping off the working families of this country," said Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate.
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