New York City -
General Electric, one of the nation's largest and oldest manufacturing and financial services companies has reached agreement on new contracts with its unions that will include health care coverage for employees' same-sex domestic partners.
GE, which has the motto, "We Bring Good Things To Life," makes machinery, home appliances, and owns the NBC Television Networks and GE Capital a financial company.
The contracts with the International Union of Electrical Works and the Communications Workers of America will be voted on June 24. If as expected the unions accept the deal which also includes pay increases and other benefits, it would bring the number of Fortune 100 companies with domestic partner benefits to 64.
"This was a smart move by both GE and the unions since domestic partner benefits make good business sense and are a step toward equal pay for equal work," said Kim I. Mills, the education director for the Human Rights Campaign in Washington.
The benefits would extend to all GE employees in the United States a company spokesperson said Thursday.
GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., is No. 5 on the Fortune 500 list. If ranked independently, 13 GE businesses
would appear in the Fortune 500. Each of the last five years, The Financial Times named GE the world's most-respected company.
"If the contracts are ratified, GE's step forward will leave only three holdouts - Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil and AIG - in the top 10 of the Fortune list without such coverage," said HRC's Daryl Herrschaft. "Almost 40 percent of the Fortune 500 now offer these benefit, up from just 17 percent at the beginning of 2000."
by Beth Shapiro
365Gay.com Newscenter
New York Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2003
GE, which has the motto, "We Bring Good Things To Life," makes machinery, home appliances, and owns the NBC Television Networks and GE Capital a financial company.
The contracts with the International Union of Electrical Works and the Communications Workers of America will be voted on June 24. If as expected the unions accept the deal which also includes pay increases and other benefits, it would bring the number of Fortune 100 companies with domestic partner benefits to 64.
"This was a smart move by both GE and the unions since domestic partner benefits make good business sense and are a step toward equal pay for equal work," said Kim I. Mills, the education director for the Human Rights Campaign in Washington.
The benefits would extend to all GE employees in the United States a company spokesperson said Thursday.
GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., is No. 5 on the Fortune 500 list. If ranked independently, 13 GE businesses
would appear in the Fortune 500. Each of the last five years, The Financial Times named GE the world's most-respected company.
"If the contracts are ratified, GE's step forward will leave only three holdouts - Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil and AIG - in the top 10 of the Fortune list without such coverage," said HRC's Daryl Herrschaft. "Almost 40 percent of the Fortune 500 now offer these benefit, up from just 17 percent at the beginning of 2000."
by Beth Shapiro
365Gay.com Newscenter
New York Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2003
This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.
