FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 14, 2003
CONTACT: LINDA MACIAS/PAUL TODD (202) 225-6161

Baca to Join Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers in Protest
of General Electric's Ontario Airport Facility

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Joe Baca (D-Rialto) will join workers from General Electric's Ontario, California, jet engine repair facility to protest increased health care costs for workers and their families. Baca and members of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America Local 1010 will picket the 200, 000 square foot facility today from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Workers at the General Electric facility are opposed to a company wide plan to transfer an estimated $30 million in annual medical costs under the company's health care insurance plan to about 5, 000 employees across the nation, amounting to an almost 10 percent increase in out of pocket costs for employees. General Electric employs about 174 people at its Ontario facility.

"I've stood with members of Local 1010 before to protest unfair practices, and I'm here again," Baca said. "We can't let corporations get away with putting profits ahead of people, especially when unemployment is high and our economic outlook is bleak."

Who:	Congressman Joe Baca and members of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America Local 1010
What:	Protest of increased healthcare costs at General Electric's Ontario Facility
When:	TODAY! Tuesday, January 14, 2003, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
Where:	General Electric's Jet Engine Repair Facility, southwest corner of Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California
Contact:	Mike Trujillo in Congressman Baca's District Office, (909) 885-2222, for more information.

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