General Electric workers in Lynn, Massachusetts called on the company to allow them to build badly-needed ventilators rather than laying off thousands of employees. (Photo: IUE-CWA)

“Real leadership from the working class.”

As strikes by delivery and grocery store employees on Monday signaled that the coronavirus pandemic is revitalizing the labor movement, workers at General Electric drew national attention to their company’s desire to save money rather than keep its workforce employed and mitigate a public health crisis.

Workers at a jet engine factory in Lynn, Massachusetts stood six feet apart at a protest outside the facility, following social distancing guidelines while calling on General Electric (GE) to reverse its recent decision to lay off thousands of workers and instead put them to work building badly-needed ventilators for coronavirus patients. In nearby Boston, GE employees also marched six feet apart to their company’s headquarters with the same demand.

The workers’ show of solidarity with coronavirus patients and the healthcare providers desperately trying to save lives was applauded by labor advocates on social media.(Julia Conley)

Posted by The non-Conformist