On Monday 1880 Harley Wisconsin manufacturing workers received a letter from their Union President. In it, he explains that they have want to keep their jobs, they have only one chance: to vote on September 13th, 2010 to approve the new Harley-Davidson contract.
He warns that if not “Harley-Davidson Board of Directors can vote themselves on whether to allocate monies to Wisconsin Operations or to another state.” Union negotiations are still open and ongoing but Harley-Davidson confirms they want to keep mid-September as the deadline to decide the future location of actual Wisconsin manufacturing operations. It is rumored that Kansas City or York, PA where Harley-Davidson has plants could be the new location if Wisconsin workers fail to approve the new contract. In any case, corporate headquarters, product development center, and museum will remain in Milwaukee
Of course Harley-Davidson will win. Wisconsin Union workers are demoralized and scared to death to lose their job.
Even the union president wants to keep his job, right? Conclusion can be made in advance that Harley Wisconsin plants are going to stay in Wisconsin. Harley cleaning the brick houses. Not over yet..
I smell doody! peace
This is 2010! Why do we need unions? The US workers need to stand up against these money grabing unions. Do you think they are there to protect you? No, they are there to make money..Time to put an end to unions in this country….
Unions are very valuable in today’s workplace. It is important to have checks and balances.
Daniel, Unions will always have a place. It is usually the company that determines relations with the workers and some companies are run very badly. I spent 29 years in factories, 20 of them a union shop and one as a union steward. Even non-union companies end up with a “rulebook” of sorts that ensures everybody knows what flies & doesn’t, how to earn vacations, advancement, whatever. Notice I’m not saying the Union should run the company. Unions can be anything from a toothless social club to duplication of management itself. Somewhere in between, they can be rather useful. Personally, I prefer a non-union shop, but I prefer fair and honest owners & bosses, too 😉
One thing I wish both sides would remember is it shouldn’t be a one-way “up only” . You take big raises & benefits when time are good and the money’s rolling in-fine. If things get rough and there’s NOT money coming in-be ready to take less for a while.
It’s easy to move machining centers around and train button-pushers, and with sales being slow the Company would probably love to be down for a while and watch bike prices creep up from a shortage. KC makes a little more sense than Mlw. from a logistics standpoint but if that was the real reason they should’ve replaced York already. Hell, the way they’re going it’ll make more sense to move the plant to China and save money on all the parts being shipped from there already.
DA who’s going to throw there job away in this horse shit economy.
I don’t see any body from Obamma down getting jobs from other country’s to help us out.
And I look around and we just keep spending with “penny’s” coming in.
Maybe the Unions will learn, they’re outdated. When they were formed it was to protect the worker. Now they seem to bend the employer over a log! Sticking to your guns (HD), Protect the bottom-line insures future jobs.
Nothing more than BLACKMAIL !
Like other posters have mentioned, Unions were a good thing at one point in history. They protected workers from businesses that would rather watch people get maimed and killed than to spend 10 bucks on safety equipment and procedures. Not so much anymore with OSHA breathing down corporations necks. The only thing Unions protect now, is bad employees, while holding back good ones. Pro Union people, ask yourself this…. when you walk the picket line, how much are your getting for strike pay? How much is your Union paying it’s officials during this period? I Guarantee if the Union officials were getting paid strike pay, things wouldn’t be so drawn out. I grew up with both parents working Union jobs, but when my parents lost our house because the UAW was striking for the entire summer… that left a sour taste for Unions.
Here’s a thought for Harley to improve their bottom line… Stop with the Employee purchase program. Every year these employees are buying bikes at rock bottom prices, riding for a year, then selling for more than they paid, putting the money in their pockets, instead of the motor company’s.
I would be curious to see how much that would effect the cash flow.
Why do we need unions? Perhaps I should reply in Spanish, Chinese, or Hindi so our free-market spirits can understand. Even *you* cannot live in America without customers and neighbors to buy your “fine things and ideas” ( PC edit). The trick is balance. Business and labor need to be served. The current worship at the alter of all-things-Wall Street is a false religion. The golden idols will fall–I hope it is before everything goes America Inc, headquarters off-shore.
Let’s see if the Union rank and file have any balls ….. vote the contract down …. I dare you!
Over & Out,
Jeff
The days of getting payed $30/hr to read the news paper are over. The days of leaving a lunch while you buddy clocks you out at the end of the shift are over. There has been a line of people willing to do that job for half the price, but they don’t have an “in” to the job. Those days are over too.
I’ve spent years working in in the racing and aerospace industries, making half of what a GM/Ford/Chrysler/Cummings production line worker gets payed, and the whole time have wondered “how long is this going to last?”.
You can thank yourselves America. Your want of getting payed the highest for doing the least, while buying the most while paying the least (Chinese crap), has destroyed American manufacturing and industry.
I can only guess that working at the HD factory was a pretty cool gig, until the market was saturated, the credit card economy broke down, and the used bike market hit rock bottom (I just bought a ’69FLH for $2500). Well, those days are over. Suck it up, and decide if you want a job, or if you want to look for a job. I lost a job when Reynard of North America went out of business, and am working for a $10k/year pay cut, and have figured out how to live and be happy. It’s still better than not having a job.
For All You Union Haters…I Am A Union Wirker For The Past 21 Years An Work My Ass Off everyday..,My company will shove right Up Your Ass Asap if they could There Scum..I Work Hard Because Im An American an It’s The Right Thing Too Do… An Nice on That 69 Flt..Enjoy The Weekend An Be Safe Help Save Our Country….
Company board GREED, plane and simple.The problem with our economy here and the world over is the desire for more power and money by those in control. The lives of the little people does not matter. We are all becoming slaves. May be the old movie Solent Green will come true, or perhaps the original Roller Ball.
lumpy,
With all due respect …. you should work as hard on your English skills as you claim to do with your Union Job … please.
Over & Out,
Jeff
UNIONS NOW DAYS SUCK. THEY RIDE AROUND IN THE BIG CARS. HAVE NICE LUNCHES AND GIVE A LINE OF BULLSHIT TO PEOPLE. THEY THINK THEY ROLE THE WORLD. ALL THE UNION WORKERS KNOW THE INS AND OUTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT. HALF OF THEM ARE LAZY THUGS WHO JUST WANT TO RAPE THE AMERICAN WORKERS. AND THEY ARE THE FIRST TO BITCH ABOUT EVERYTHING. AND THEY VOTED THE JACKASS INTO OFFICE THAT WE HAVE. WE BETTER WAKE UP.