By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily Item

  A company representative and a negotiator for IUE Local 201, the largest union at Lynn's biggest employer, said the agreement affecting assembly and test workers will help the River Works land future contracts and bring more jobs to the Lynn plant.

    "This will improve flexibility and productivity and keep us well positioned in the future," GE spokesman Rich Gorham said.

     Four out of five union members who took part in the ratification vote cast ballots for the agreement on Tuesday and Wednesday. Local 201 President Jeff Crosby said the five months of negotiations were an example of "democracy at work.

  "That's good for our members and good for the company and for our community, too," Crosby said.

  Negotiations began when the company sought to combine rotor assembly, balance, general assembly, test and inspection job classifications with the advanced aircraft engine mechanic position.

  Company and union negotiators hammered out an agreement giving union workers new training opportunities on company time and higher pay rates in the classifications.

  The agreement also provides a process making it easier for union members from other parts of the River Works to get one of the higher paying jobs in the future. The pact also rewards workers with higher pay when they are helping the company with special training and establishes a training review committee to monitor problems.

  Gorham said the agreement comes in the wake of improvements the company has made throughout the River Works.

Source: The Daily Item of Lynn