By Doug Cunningham

In the midst of new contract negotiations with the IUE-CWA, GE is temporarily laying off eight to nine hundred workers represented by the union at a Louisville, Kentucky appliances factory. The workers on the dishwasher assembly line will make seventy percent of their wages and keep full benefits during the layoff thanks to their union contract. The dishwashers are used by home builders and construction companies that build apartment complexes and GE says there’s been a slowing of demand for them.