LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – GE Appliances, the Louisville-based company that has come under fire for pressing on with manufacturing through the pandemic, said Tuesday that one of its employees has a “probable, but unconfirmed case” of the novel coronavirus.
The company said it would close Building 3, where it makes dishwashers, for two days and bring in a third-party crew to perform “a thorough cleaning using EPA approved chemicals and following CDC guidelines.”
GE Appliances has five buildings on the sprawling manufacturing campus in southeast Jefferson County, including a factory for washers and dryers, one for dishwashers, one for plastic parts and a stamping facility / distribution center.
GE Appliances already said its whole complex would undergo a thorough cleaning last week when it was idled. The company provided no immediate response to questions.
When work in Building 3 resumes on Friday, the “affected area” where the employee worked will still be off-limits for 14 days, the company said, while production continues in the “unaffected area.”
“Our focus remains on safeguarding the health of our team members and supporting our community,” the company said.
Dino Driskell, president of the local union that represents about 3,800 rank-and-file workers at Appliance Park, noted the news comes only two days after GE Appliances restarted work at the factories following a week-long hiatus for cleaning and special modifications.
"It was only a matter of time," Driskell, president of IUE-CWA Local 83-761, told WDRB. "... (I) truly hope and pray it isn't someone with underlying issues and the member can recover without complications."
Driskell and the union have formally accused GE Appliances of operating an unsafe work environment and asked for negotiations. Driskell has said the park should be shut down for a longer time to deal with virus.
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