Posted on 08/23/2009 3:10:52 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Union workers at Mercury Marine put their jobs at risk Sunday when they rejected a package of wage and benefit concessions the boat engine maker said it needed or it would move their work to a nonunion plant in Oklahoma.
Union leaders did not immediately release Sunday's tally but said the vote was "overwhelming" to reject what the company called its final offer.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1947, represents 850 workers at Mercury Marine, the largest employer in the eastern Wisconsin city of Fond du Lac and the world's largest manufacturer of boat and recreational marine engines.
Mercury Marine issued a statement after the vote saying it will move many of its Fond du Lac manufacturing operations to its facility in Stillwater, Okla., over the next two to three years. The company said it would continue to operate the Fond du Lac facility for now under the terms and conditions of the existing contract, which expires in 2012.
"This has been a very difficult and stressful process for all involved," Mark Schwabero, president of Mercury Marine, said in a statement. "We will work closely with our team in Fond du Lac to develop and communicate a transition plan for this 24-36 month process."
Mercury Marine spokesman Steve Fleming had said last week that if the offer was rejected, the union and company could resume talks and hold another vote this coming Saturday, but its offer would not change.
Local 1947 President Mark Zillges said Friday there would be no further negotiations. He did not immediately return a phone call Sunday seeking comment.
Fond du Lac city manager Thomas Herre called the vote "a huge disappointment."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Yow, this is another piece of bad news for Wisconsin. The union people will wish they voted the other way soon.
Idiots.
Look,
If the good folks of Wisconsin want to work the fry line at Wendys instead of having a great manufacturing job, so be it.
They voted for this crap.
Idiots! They just voted thosands of job out of our state.
Union thugs putting yet another company out of business. Unbelievable the stupidity.
Zero will claim all the jobs in Oklahoma were “saved” by his stimulus package. The Wisconsin jobs will just fade away.
I wonder who has put more people out of work. Obama or the unions.
This could cause the Demonrats to further expose themselves. You KNOW they will be unable to refrain from commenting.
Accept concession or lose job...how stupid do you have to be especially in this economy?!
Galt’s Gulch is going to have to be freakin’ HUGH to fit everyone that will want to be there!
Let’s get Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee to secede.
Union thugs have a new friend in the White House but some companies are tired of being pushed around by them. Boeing has a thing going with the machinists union over the assembly line for the 787, it involves whether it will be in Washington or South Carolina.
That is exactly what he has been doing only some of the scenarios are even a more stupid way for him to claim 'victory' for saving jobs.
Another union victory.
*sniff*
They just voted to lose their jobs.
guys, they aren't stupid. - this is the agenda
They know that they have plenty of time to wreck capitalism totally.
This international union centers are, by and large, Communist in nature and truly believe in the class warfare ethos.
I used to belong to 2 of these unions and the orders from the international bosses were at odds with what we knew to be common sense from a business point of view.
as long as there is no right to work then the unions are protected and capitalism will fail.
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