Former Salem GE Plant employees featured in national commercial

By Shawn Nowlin

shawn.nowlin@ourvalley.org 

Previous Salem General Electric workers have been through a lot in recent years. 

GE continues to slash its U.S. workforce despite receiving over $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies to keep jobs in America over the last three years. 

There was a time when the company employed approximately 3,500 individuals. The plant, according to a company spokesperson, was a production hub for control systems and integrated circuit boards for gas and steam generators, pitch systems for wind and turbine blade controls, starters for gas turbines, and down tower assembly for wind power conversion systems. 

When GE shuttered its Salem factory in 2019, many people lost their jobs. Recently, some of those people decided to make their voices heard by participating in an advertising campaign urging GE to bring good union manufacturing jobs back to Salem. 

One such individual is Kevin Smith who worked at the plant for almost two decades. 

“We made GE incredibly profitable,” said Smith, who was one of 265 local workers who lost their job when GE closed its Salem plant. “Many of us gave decades to GE. We’ve proven what we can do. Instead of turning their back on the communities and people who made them successful, GE should be looking to us to help bring them into a new era.” 

Currently airing across the nation on multiple stations, the commercial highlights the impact that GE’s offshoring has had on domestic union manufacturing and local economies. 

Throughout the ad, workers emphasize GE’s opportunity to invest in local communities. The video message makes the point that, “GE has a chance to be a part of our future, by bringing jobs back, to help bring America back.” 

“GE workers in Salem have long been leaders when it comes to manufacturing,” said Vicky Hurley, President of IUE-CWA Local 82161. “For years, our workforce has had the skills, talent, and drive to build for a more sustainable future. These jobs were some of the best our community had. GE can make the choice to partner with us, bring these jobs back, and let union workers lead toward building a more sustainable future.”

Led by IUE-CWA, the Manufacturing Division of the Communications Workers of America, the “Bring It Home, GE” campaign is the largest national coalition effort calling on the manufacturing giant to invest in the communities like Salem that built GE into a manufacturing industry powerhouse over decades. 

Salem workers marked the launch of the coalition by taking direct action, donning stickers demanding “Bring it Home, GE” in a day of protest against GE’s offshoring while receiving billions in public funds. The local worker action was amplified across the country, with GE and GE Lighting workers in five states holding demonstrations, including in Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Kentucky and Kansas.