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 ...
Remember Eastern Airlines? Same union.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development website, strikers are not eligible for unemployment compensation.
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What about at the federal level, or through presidential executive order? Can a czar be involved?
My fear is that the very same morons who voted with the union against their employer (not to mention self interest), and who can be counted on to vote a straight D ticket, will migrate south and alter the landscape in right-to-work states.
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Can they be re-educated? Especially with (economic) reality?
I knew union guys on the assembly line at our local Chevy plant who would purposely not tighten nuts down, etc, etc..... when they were angry or knew they were going to be fired...
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Nice. Pride in your work/profession - sound like journalists.
You got it. So if you purchase Mercury Marine engines, only purchase those made after 2012 or before 2009.
and Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, VW about to open plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee too.
Also, Nissan not only manufactures here, they moved their American corporate headquarters from L.A. to Nashville.
Okay, so say I work for a manufacturing plant and a union wants to form. I get to vote but I don’t want a union, so I’ll vote no. Card Check means that my vote won’t be private?
How is that Constitutional?
“Can they be re-educated? Especially with (economic) reality?”
Unfortunately, NO !! We’ve seen in VA a migration from the ‘rust belt,’ New York/New England, points North.
I know people personally who moved here because of VA’s more favorable tax climate. And, guess what? They STILL vote Democrat, and have now turned our fine red state purple, veering blue.
The problem is that by the time they vote in the tax/spenders, those elected pass their woeful legislation, and it gets implemented, affecting the budget, too much time has passed for them to understand that it all goes back to their vote.
I once heard our former Governor/Senator Robb brag (or lament) that the last time the US had a surplus was when his father-in-law (LBJ) was POTUS. Well, duh! We had a surplus until the effects of LBJ’s “Great Society” kicked in. And we have never recovered.
Folks raised in the environment of unionism, and government generosity that can’t be afforded, see NO correlation between their votes and the eventual decline of a given jurisdiction. THey are politically uneducable.
Mercury workers, please .. stay in Wisconsin.
It doesn’t really violate the constitution in anyway that I can see. Maybe someone else can enlighten us.
When the government decided they could tell how much wheat a man could grow on his own farm, the levee was breached as to overstepping the constitution. Not to mention FDR blowing away any shred of constitutional limits on government with his countless government agencies and meddling in the free market.
It is a horrible thing to impose on businesses. If card check passes, we now have the internet so union thug’s names and addresses can be spread around. We’ll see if they will stand up to citizens who don’t want unions when the union bosses and thugs can’t hide.
They have an existing contract thru 2012. Keeping the plant open as they plan the transition to OK is a good move. There may be some sabotage, but there will also be people angling to be part of the transition team and people angling for transfers. There will be some motivation to keep production and quality up in order to delay rather than expedite the total transition of work out of state.
This is beyond stupid. It’s a shame, “Fondu” is a great little town.
The IAM will not accept responsibility for this. They will simply blame the evil capitalist Mercury Marine for being selfish and heartless with their refusal to see the IAM’s point of view.
The IAM will then lay the blame right at MM’s feet, no way, no how will the IAM accept the blame.
I’ve seen it done in aerospace, this is how they manipulate their rube members.
BTW, good for MM for their decision to call the IAM’s bluff and go forward with their move to OK.
SZ
Sort of. Non Union Employees still have to pay the Unions to represent them.
Self-ping
Not everyone voted against the Mercury proposal. There were some people with intelligence who knew better. It’s sort of like us Freepers getting screwed because an ignorant majority of people voted for zero.
I feel bad for the state of Wisconsin, my real home state. I left Wisconsin for Tennessee years ago. When I left, I never envisioned how ignorant the unions and government would become (and many of the people too). Do they not realize they have inflicted financial wounds upon themselves? Do they not understand that business is not done in a vacuum? Doyle is like Obama...he has accelerated the demise of the state.
Unfortunately, I do not see Wisconsin recovering for 20 years. They just don’t get it. And as a “native”, it’s really sad.
In reading up on this further, it looks like the union isn’t on strike, it has just rejected a company proposal to renegotiate the existing contract.
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