For once the unions didn't vote to slit their own throats, well done but it looked like a lot of them wanted to.
Posted on 09/14/2010 4:48:56 AM PDT by Abathar
With the future of Harley-Davidson Inc.'s Wisconsin factories at stake, union workers in the Milwaukee area and Tomahawk on Monday ratified a seven-year labor contract that's likely to result in hundreds of job cuts the company says are needed to keep production in the state where it was born.
"I am too young to retire and too old to start over," said Harley assembler Jill Huffman, summing up a pervasive feeling of uncertainty among many Harley employees who voted on the contract Monday at the Waukesha County Expo Center.
United Steelworkers of America Local 2-209 accepted the concessions-filled agreement, which takes effect in 2012, with about 620 members in favor and more than 500 against, according to union members.
The deal includes a seven-year wage freeze, with the possibility of pay raises, and higher health-care expenses. It also calls for the use of seasonal, or "casual," employees who would not be entitled to medical or retirement benefits and would receive less pay for the same work done by regular, full-time employees. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 78 approved a similar contract.
In Tomahawk in north-central Wisconsin, the Steelworkers voted 218 to 80 in favor of their contract, union members said.
Harley-Davidson CEO Keith Wandell had urged Wisconsin employees to approve the deals, telling them in a letter that it was up to them to decide whether they wanted to remain part of the company's future.
But while the company's take-it-or-leave-it proposal increases the likelihood that Harley will keep its Wisconsin manufacturing operations, it provided no guarantees, said Scott Parr.
"We tried everything we could to get a commitment to keep jobs in Milwaukee throughout the seven-year agreement," Parr said. "We got a verbal commitment, but we could not get it in writing."
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
For once the unions didn't vote to slit their own throats, well done but it looked like a lot of them wanted to.
Bikers with a brain. Too bad the government unions are not as smart.
Most of the time a union contract signals the beginning of the end unless it’s with the government. Harley Davidson has most likely just kicked the can down the road.
Agreed, but they kicked it pretty damn far. I was amazed that the union went for it to be honest, lately they have voted themselves out of a job more often than not.
Ping the Hooligans?
I wish some day Harley would wake up and get modernized.
They are a lot better than they were 10 years ago but are still 10 years behind in advancements like counterbalancing and quality control.
I went shopping for a big cruiser, bought a Yamaha Star 1300 Tourer.
A lot of that R and D is a black hole of money to do it right. Notice how non-union shops are easier in pulling that kind of advancement off than the union ones are?
That’s because the government doesn’t need to make a profit, they’ll just raise taxes or increase the deficit for whatever they need.
U get it.
Since they’re unionized, maybe Baraq will send them a few billion $$ to build Hybrid Harleys, LOL.
Love the "Corporate Greed" sign. Let's see, corporation wants to stay in business, so it's greedy.
I wonder if this moron ever looked at the bills the corporation has to pay. Yeah, the big boys at the company probably make a lot of money, but so what, it's their company. Let the workers design a new bike, apply for patents/copyrights, fight lawsuits, incorporate, hire others, build buildings, develop dealer networks, and sell a product.
“I am too young to retire and too old to start over.”
Harley, and Harley engineering, in a nutshell.
Function follows form. Expensive, antiquated, chopper-esque, vibratory crotch jewelry for the aging and the aged.
Just got pinged by a troll on a similar thread I posted a while ago, same area but with OshKosh as the bad guys for making money. I responded thinking it was this thread (not enough coffee yet). Looks like we have a newbie who is trying to explain why unions are good without getting flamed.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2580706/posts
“Corporate greed”? I didn’t know the employees considered themselves corporate.
“vibratory crotch jewelry for the aging and the aged.”
Perfectly said. There are far better motorcycles out there for a lot less money. Harleys are a fad for the boomer generation; the generation that never could stand on their own. They always have to follow the crowd.
LOL!! From 1903 - 2010, which generation is that?
The current ones alive. Are you really that dense?
I must be; I was born in 1956, own and ride an ‘05 Ultra Classic and consider it to be the best, most enjoyable motorcycle I’ve ever owned. And I’ve owned a few.
Perhaps you could share your extensive motorcycling knowledge with us boomers and tell us what we should ride and why. I can’t seem to stand on my own.
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