General Electric workers held two protests Wednesday in support of suspending a “technology sharing” deal between the United States and India.
The first rally took place at 10 a.m. at the office of Congressman Seth Moulton in Salem, while the second was held at 11 p.m. at the office of Rep. Katherine Clark in Malden. The workers rallied together and delivered petitions with more than 1,400 signatures from workers urging Congress and the White House to conduct a thorough analysis of the deal regarding job security and national security. Two of the petition’s reported focuses are ensuring job guarantees and new product lines when outsourcing work to foreign countries.
The technology transfer deal is slated to divert the manufacturing of jet engine components from Lynn and Madisonville, KY, to India.
“We’ve dealt with offsets in the past to South Korea, Romania, and Turkey. These deals started off as tech transfers, then production, then eventually these countries began selling these products back to the U.S. military from product lines that used to be manufactured here in the United States,” General Electric employee and IUE-CWA Local 201 Union President Adam Kaszynski said in a press release.
Shortly after the rally at his office, Moulton responded with a statement demonstrating support for maintaining Lynn’s production.
“The jet engine was created here in Lynn in 1942. The work undertaken here has made history, and it’s transformed America’s national security. That’s a testament to the men and women behind the scenes, who for decades have produced the systems and equipment that our nation relies on,” Moulton said. “We have to keep leading the way, and I will continue to advocate for keeping jobs here in Lynn.”
Moulton’s Director of Communications, Sydney Simon, reiterated some recent actions taken by Moulton that involve General Electric, including multiple meetings with the CEO of General Electric Defense, the submission of multiple amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act in support of General Electric, and the co-authorization of letters in support Lynn’s General Electric Workers.
