ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290064
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 BUSINESS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
Leaders of the employee union at GE Drive Systems in Salem accepted "special benefits" from the company in return for their signature on contract changes in 1994, according to a lawsuit filed by two men who said they were hurt by the alleged deal.
The men, Clarence K. St.Clair and Joseph W. Farmer, claim they were bumped in 1994 from high-paid jobs by lower-paid workers with approval of the International Union of Electronic Workers Local 161. Their pay rates were not specified in the suit filed Thursday in Salem Circuit Court.
The transfers happened, the suit said, after unidentified GE officials gave the president of the local, Gerald Meadows, and its acting chief steward at the time, Michael Shepherd, "special benefits and considerations to their individual advantage, gain and profit."
GE declined to comment. Meadows and Shepherd could not be reached late Thursday.
J. Emmette Pilgreen IV, a lawyer representing St.Clair and Farmer, declined to specify the enticements allegedly provided to the union leaders.
GE's motivation was to save money, Pilgreen said. GE Drive Systems, a unit of General Electric Co., "saved on wages, they saved on retirement benefits" and on unemployment insurance compensation expenses, Pilgreen said. The suit does not say how much the company saved.
The suit, which accuses union leaders of running afoul of federal labor law and accuses the company and union of conspiracy, seeks back pay of $50,000 and punitive damages of $350,000 for each of the men.
The alleged deal transferring St.Clair and Farmer to lower-paid positions was contained in a side agreement to a three-year contract between the union local and GE Drive Systems. That contract was ratified in July 1994 by a 3-1 margin and covers about 900 hourly employees at the Salem plant, which makes controls for industrial machinery.
The transfers were a severe blow to both men, because each lost a large part of about 25 years' seniority with the company, Pilgreen said. Both are still employed at the Salem factory.
The suit said the union leadership acted without properly notifying the rank and file and rebuffed Farmer's repeated attempts to reverse the contract change through a vote of the membership and through grievances.
The suit also contends that the transfers compromised safety because the replacements for St.Clair and Farmer were less skilled.
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