Evening star., 1950-05-28
General Motors Signs
5-Year Contract With
CI0-EIectric Workers
By the Associoted pre,s


DETROIT. May 27.-General
Motors Corp. signed a f1ve-year
contract tonight with the CIO-
International Union of Electrical
Radio and Machine Workers. The
agreement is patterned after the
pact signed Tuesday by GIN with
the CIO-United Auto workers.
The contract, which cannot be
reopened for five years. covers
about $4,000 workers. The union
formed by the CIO last fall, rep
resents employees at these plants
Frigidaire and Delco Products
Dayton, Ohio; Packard Electric.
Warren, Ohio; Delco Appliance,
Rochester. N. Y. and Delco- -Remy
battery plant, New Brunswick,
N. j.
Cost-of-Living Formula.
General Motors announced ma
jor provisions of the new agree
ment as follows:
"G Continuation without
change Of the cost-of- living al
lowance formula, established in
the 1948 agreement, under which
wages are reviewed quarterly and
adjusted in line with changes in
the consumer price index of the
United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
"(2) An annual improvement
factor of 4 cents per hour to be
added to the base rate starting
May 20. 1850, and cents addi-
tional annually for the life of
the agreement. This reflects rec
ognition by the IUE-CIO and Gen.
eral Motors that higher living
standards depend upon technology
cal advancements and the CO.
operative attitude of employees.
$1O0 Monthly Pensions.
"(5 A sound, funded, non-con-
tributory pension plan providing
a minimum pension of $100 per
month. including Federal social
security, for all employees under
this agreement with Is years of
service. If pending legislation in
creasing Federal social security
benefits becomes law. the COM
bined pension from General Mo-
tors and social security will ex-
ceed 500 per month for the ma
jority Of employees, since General
Motors pension contribution to
eligible employees will continue to
be not less than $1.50 per month
for each year of service up to 80
years.
go. Increased life insurance
and sickness and accident benefits
under the General Motors group
insurance program at no addi-
tional cost to employees. Also,
General Motors will bear half the
cost of disqualification, and surgi-
cal coverage for the employe and
his family"
The. contract had been under
negotiation since April 21. The
union was represented by James
B. Carey. secretary of the CIO and
chairman of the IUE's Admins
trative Committee. and Homer
Pierce. secretary of the commit
tee. Louis q. Seaton. director of
labor relations for GIN, headed
company negotiators.
Won Bargaining Right.
The IUE won bargaining rights
at the plants February %. The
new union replaced the United
Electrical Radio and Machine
Workers of America that was
ousted from the CIO last fall
on charge of leftist tendencies. |
The settlement is almost identi-
cal with the one reached between
GIN and the United Auto Work.
ers. It does not, however, have
the provision in the UAW con-
tract that covers union security.
Particularly significant. just as
in the case of the UAW contract,
was acceptance of a theory that
wages can be increased without a
raise in prices. Walter Reuther,
UAW president, had insisted on
this in the unprecedented agree
ment covering 250,000 GIN auto
workers.
The IUE contract includes this
paragraph:
THE annual improvement fac
tor (wage increase) provided
herein recognizes that continuing
improvement in the standard of
living Of employees depends upon
chronological progress, better tools,
methods, processes and equipment,
and a cooperative attitude on the
part Of all parties in such prog
ress. It further recognizes the
principle that to produce more
with the same amount of human
effort is a sound economic and