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 ...
Wee wee wee’d all the way home... Fond du Lac will become a ghost town.
The company will be moving to a right to work state...Oklahoma.
Oklahoma’s Right to Work law went into effect on September 28, 2001
They seem to forget, that the membership needs to have jobs for there to be a union.
Dumbasses....
I just don’t understand the mindset. There aren’t going to be any jobs to replace these. It’s better to take a pay cut in this economy rather than lose a factory like this.
Eventually, there will be new jobs, but they won’t be high-paying jobs for uneducated laborers.
Honestly, I hope Boeing moves. Likewise with Merc.
HEY WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t forgit Georgia..
“Union thugs putting yet another company out of business. Unbelievable the stupidity.”
They didn’t put the company out of business; they just put all their workers in Fond du Lac out of work plus all the community relying on that Mercury payroll.
Union members have to be the most brain dead people in the world.
I prefer Mulligans Valley ,,, but you’re right ,, it’s gonna have to be a BIG valley.
Same thing happened on the Big Island of Hawaii and the sugar industry in the ‘80s. The sugar company said it needed wage concessions to stay in business - opened it’s books to the employees to show that it did indeed need to cut their compensation to stay in business (Honapau I think was the town most affected). The employees voted almost unanimously NOT to accept a pay cut. The sugar mill/plantation promptly shut its doors, and the area has been depressed eceonomically ever since. Some Japanese businessmen bought up about $20,000,000 worth of land to start a resort in the ‘90s. The same Hawaiian dickheads took them to court to prevent them from building a resort and the dickheads won. The Japanese sold at a 90% loss, and now no one will buy anything or even attempt to start any business in the area because of the morons who live there. The richly deserve to live in poverty. The only problem I have with it is that my federal tax dollars go to welfare to support the lazy a$$holes there.
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.
___________________________________________________________
So pretty much all of the output and mfr. machinery will be sabotaged over the next 24-36 months.
What’s going to become of that pretty plant, with the ponds off the freeway? Poor, poor Fond du Lac. A town of 50k+ will become nothing. It’s a sad, sad day.
ping
guess they figure the messiah will take the loaves and fishes and multiply em for the union thugs of Mercury to eat.....print up some more money...
Guess people will buy Jap outboards or OMC motors made by Bombardiere (in Canada I beleive....)
In the end though the union bosses know that without the membership, the monies in the “strike funds” belongs to them. Got to be in the millions for them to advocate this form of economic suicide.
My president of my local was just telling me how great the Cash for Clunker program is and how this will turn the tide.
When I pointed out that 60% of the "clunkers" were american brands, and 70% of the cars sold were Hondas and Toyotas, he called me "one of those rightwing nutjobs".
Looks like Oklahoma is getting a lot of jobs...and good that this company did not ship those jobs overseas.
Bottom line: Hawaii democrats, Wisconsin democrats, doesn’t matter. Democrats = FAILURE
You’re probably right, but I was going to say, at least they are keeping the jobs in the US. Folks in Wisconsin that want a job should be able to make this move.
Kiss their butts and jobs bye bye. Morons but that’s what unions are. Glad for OK.
Not only that, lots of those Hondas and Toyotas were made here in America by non-union workers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.