LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The president of the local union that represents GE Appliances factory workers said in a letter to members Wednesday that he is "exploring the possibility of taking a park wide strike vote" in light of the company's "unwillingness to respond" to the coronavirus pandemic.
GE Appliances has kept its Appliance Park manufacturing campus running despite worker concerns about the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the company said it would shutter one of the five buildings there for two days after a presumed case of the virus was discovered.
WDRB has reached out to GE Appliances for comment.
Dino Driskell, president of IUE-CWA Local 83-761, said in the letter that the union is "greatly disappointed" in the company's handling of the virus case in the dishwasher factory known as AP3.
"This is irresponsible and reckless and they should be ashamed of themselves," Driskell said. "We are pushing the company to respond to our demands and take this virus seriously park wide."
Mark Hardin, a 25-year GE Appliances employee who works in the Appliance Park refrigerator factory, told WDRB he would vote to strike.
"Nobody wants to strike, but we are ready. People are fed up," he said.
Connie Mendel, an official with the Louisville Metro health department, said health inspectors visited Appliance Park unannounced on Tuesday.
Speaking during Mayor Greg Fischer's virtual press conference, Mendel didn't say whether the health department is OK with GE Appliances' mitigation efforts, but the only action she described was that inspectors gave the company "additional guidance."
That guidance included reminding employees of the need to keep social distancing and frequently cleaning "high touch" areas, she said.
"It wasn't perfect," she said, but the cleanliness of the facilities were not out of line with a typical factory.
"There was the typical wear and tear that you would see with a plant," Mendel said.
Fischer said he trusts GE Appliances' management not to put their employees at risk.
"They’re not saying, 'Well lets just go ahead and do this, it’s unsafe.' They know that’s not a winner either, so there is a strong desire, I believe, on both sides here to have a safe facility so that they can operate and they can sustain the business and grow the business as well," Fischer said. "So that’s the kind of balance we want to see .. Let's encourage all parties to continue communicating."
