In todays Foxnews online in the business section there is an article about H-D shutting down their York plan after union workers rejected a contract offer and voted to strike. What a way to drive up resale values.

 

Forget resale values.
Give the union guys credit for standing up to management.
Solidarity!!!

 

It's a lockout, not a strike. After workers voted to strike beginning this weekend, Harley locked the plant Thursday morning.
I'm definitely a believer that Big Labor is just as evil as Big Business, but in Harley's case, what with their record profits for these many years, it amazes me (though it shouldn't) that the greedy corporatists aren't willing to share the riches with the people who actually do the work of the company. Let's face it, the workers aren't asking anywhere near what the corporatists pay themselves.
And the vast majority of quality problems with the bikes that I read about are design and engineering flaws, not sloppy work on the line.

 

the moco is only telling what they want heard, there's more to it

 

I agree with you guys,but it looks like we are the minority here.Go over to the Dyna board and read what some of our brethren have to say about the lockout,,,and unions in general.As for myself,i'm a former UAW member and currently belong to AFSCME .....and proud of it.

 

The unions are the death of industry in this country. Just look at what they ended up doing Detroit. Remember Eastern Airlines? I say close the York plant, fire all the employees and move the operations to the south were there aren't unions or very ineffective unions at best.

Let the labor market dictate how much a company needs to pay an employee. If a company can't get employees for $10.00 per hour then they will need to raise it to $15.00 etc... Free market is much better than Labor Union dictates.

Harley-Davidson as any other company isn't in the business of giving money away. They are in the business of making money, it isn't a break even business it is about making money not sharing it with employees at the dictate of a Union. So what if they had record profits, good for them.

 

I grew up in New York where unions thrived. After 20 years in the Army I retired in Texas where Unions are almost unheard of. There's pro's and con's to each side but I have to say if your pro union the your just putting your own destiny in someone else's hands.Simpler terms are YOU ARE LETTING SOMEONE ELSE TELL YOU WHAT YOU ARE WORTH. So you can sit on you *** or work like a dog but in the end your worth no more then the looser standing next to you.

 

Sounds a lot like Socialism.

 

I think maybe the statement that"all unions are good" or "all unions are bad",may be a bitgeneralized. There are good unions that stand up for unfair labor practices, unsafe working environments and getting their members a better wage and better benefits. And, I'm sure, there are those unions that just want more money for their union and its leaders. But to say that unions are the death of industry in this country seems a bit generalized. What about Enron and the other corporations whose leaders robbed from their pension funds and stole retirement from their employees. We wouldn't say that all corporations are bad just because of some misdeeds by a few greedy people. There is good and bad everywherewe look. I hope this strike is short-lived and that those IAM members get back to work making the bikes we all love to visit about here everyday....and then we can get back to doing exactly that.

 

I assume that you're going in to your job today and offering to take a pay cut to help the company make a higher profit then?
Labor negotiations ARE part of the free market. To you, free market just means corporations get to do and pay whatever they want. Capitalism is a perfect system only if perfect people are operating it. Common sense and fairness and good business practices dictate that companies who make record profits year after year should share the wealth with the PEOPLE WHO MAKE THOSE PROFITS FOR THEM!
Remember when we didn't have unions? Sweat shops, child labor, 12 hour days, 7 day weeks, no vacations? Oh, that's right, that was before you were born so it doesn't count, right?
Evil unions exist because evil corporations forced them to.