There’s cause for celebration with the news General Electric plans to hire up to 200 new workers through next spring. The hiring commitment makes good on a negotiated agreement between River Works union representatives and the company on new hires and on replacing retirees with new workers.
GE’s sprawling West Lynn factory complex looms large in the memories of Lynn residents old enough to recall when the aviation engine manufacturer poured thousands of workers onto city streets at the end of each work shift and represented generations-worth of employment for local families.
The plant’s profound influence over the local economy can be felt even when GE stops manufacturing on its local property. The former Factory of the Future site is now the future home of a Market Basket store set to open next year. The broad swath of land between the commuter rail tracks and the Lynnway is the proposed home of a residential high-rise complex.
The jobs GE is advertising are the kind many people thought disappeared with the Factory of the Future and the former River Works gear plant. GE is hiring warehouse workers, machinists and manufacturing associates. The starting pay is good and the opportunity for pay raises stretches out over 10 years.
The push to hire machinists dovetails perfectly with the local E-Team machinist training program founded by the Essex County Community Organization and International Union of Electrical Workers Local 201. The two organizations working with trade associations provided training for people interested in learning a skill in high demand.
Machine shops dot northeastern Massachusetts and the trade is working to bring younger skilled employees into an aging workforce. Machinists who graduated from E-Team and work in local shops will probably answer GE’s call for workers and spur the need for E-Team to turn out more graduates.
All of this spells good news for Lynn and the River Works’ future. Skilled trade work offers an opportunity to help hundreds of local families increase their income and move from renting an apartment to owning a home.
GE’s indirect ability to spur development on two former company sites can be matched with innovative ideas proposed by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and others to bring new business opportunities to the River Works site.
Biotechnology companies and other emerging businesses attracted to Lynn by lower per square foot lease costs can thrive locally while literally being within view of Boston. GE brought good things to Lynn for decades and its new hiring initiative shows it is committed to continuing that practice.