Nearly 1,700 workers at a GE Transportation plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, went on strike Tuesday, marking the first large-scale work stoppage in the U.S. manufacturing sector in three years. Workers authorized the union to wage a strike after they failed to secure an interim agreement with Wabtec extending the terms of their contract with GE. As the new employer at the plant, Wabtec is obligated to recognize the union but has the freedom to negotiate its own new contract. He also said introducing lower pay for new hires would create a two-tier system inside the plant, causing rifts between different generations of employees. As older workers under the established pay scales change jobs or retire, the share of employees under the lower payscales grows.

Source: Huffington Post February 26, 2019 20:15 UTC