That's what could happen if those guys at the York plant don't get back to work.

Quite frankly, I think they have placed too much faith in their union. Once again, Goober, putting lugnuts on the wheels thinks he should be making a million a year since the exec, twenty levels above him with the Harvard education got a 10 mill bonus. Listen Goob, it's called a career plan. What you have is a good job (lugnut put-er on-er) with good pay(~$20.00/hr) for those skills you possess, not a career plan.

Now Goober is jeolous cause he didn't get a million dollar bonus for the lugnut thing and at the same time the union thugs are telling him the company can't run without his lugnut skills. Wake up Goob, there's a robot with your name on it being built right now. Maybe you should take some of the money you are earning with those critical lugnut skills and go to college, get an education, and then become an HD exec with a million dollar bonus. No. That would be too easy so lets get Goober, Vern, Cleetus and all the other "critical skilled" workers to demand all this money or cause a halt in the production. Somehow I don't see that as very smart.

They obviously haven't seen the steel mills near Pittsburg PA. Thank the union for helping shut those factories down too.

I'm betting HD will win this one. GM is in a critical status, Ford has had to put upthe entire company for a billion dollar loan. The Japanese are overtaking the auto industry. I think if I was a worker there I believe I would consider carefully HD statement that they do not wish to end up in the same frying pan as GM, Ford and others.

All you guys that have 07's on order from the York line might want to reconsider. Do you really think out of all those employees that not a single one is going to be vindictive towards the company?

 

Goober put my bike together and if I could I've give him/her a raise, I would. It's a nice bike....

lp

 

UNIONS are way out-dated....i hope HD busts em....i sure wouldnt buy a newHD for awhile now...yall that got em ordered oughta look real hard at some of the used low mile bikes the market is now flooded with...wait too long and bet those bikes price tag increases

 

[rant on]

Ahh, where to begin. First of all, I have yet to meet an employee at a Harley factory that could qualify as uneducated. Since that is the impression you are trying to give by using the names Goober, Vern and Cleetus, I think you owe them an apology. That's about as intelligent as John Kerry calling the troops uneducated.

Second, while I do not support Unions and I believe wholeheartedly that Unions are the worst thing to happen to the American economy since the depression, I do support the workers. They are trying to ensure that they can maintain their lifestyle with rising costs. Do I think they should strike? No. But then again, they did try to work with theFactory and could not reach an agreement. They have every right to do what they are doing under current U.S. laws and regulations. It may wind up hurting them in the long run, but they chose to roll the dice.

Third, no employee would willingly sabotage a product that they assembled in today's work environment. If you've never been to the assembly plant at York, you have no idea how granular they trace every part. The factory can tell you exactly which worker turned any bolt on any bike on any given day.

[/rant off]

 

He did, eh? And didn't screw up anything? Well, how about that!

Unfortunately, Goober, Cleetus and Vern all put mine together. Pay raise? I don't think so. Maybe they should go collect unemployment for awhile.

Here's another thought: The bikes from the York plant have had a significant number of complaints. HDneeds to do something. Halt production andbuy some time to work the issue in full view of the media? Hmmmm... I wonder if thisstrike is just what the doctor ordered for York? Things just couldn't be working out better for HD. Production(supply) is down (halted), that's good for product valuation. Expenses have just been cut by the entire employee payroll at York (at least all those that belong to the union). And now they have time to work on that enginenoise that seems to irritate so many devoted HD customers.

Who says Goober is stupid?Good timing Goob!

 

Just so you know there are no lugs nut on a Harley , better come up with another way to bash the union.

 

Talked to our dealer last night at the HOG meeting. He had just been to Midyear in Orlando and in Milwaukee the week before. The MOCO is confident that they will reach an agreement with labor. They redo every 3 years and last strike was 1991. Pretty good deal. He said that the concessions management wanted was a lower starting wage for new hires. No paycuts for current employees and that the employees pay a part of their insurance costs. They currently pay noting for premiums and very little in copays accorging to our dealer. In other words the current employees would lose nothing but new hires would get a lower salary and [pay soem insurance. The starting rate would still be around $18.50 per hopur to start. That's pretty good money around here to start for factory work.

He also said there is about a 3 week inventory of bikes (Soft tails or Dressers) in teh US right now. He would not say prices would rise but he did say that supply and demand sets the price. So you can take that as a price increase the way I read it

I'm not a union fan. I just don't want someone telling me I can't go to work today if I want to. I surely don't want to pay for that "priviledge"especially when "The Guy" is still drawing his full salary. I guess I feel that if I do my best for the company they'll take care of me or I can find somone who will

Just my .02

Bubba

 

I'll bash the union all I want. I have seen first hand how worthless unions are. I have seen how worthless collective bargaining agreements are.

 

Yah, I talked with my dealer's gm today. He said much the same thing. The dealers are sitting on a ton of inventory, and the Harley execs, at the last dealer meeting, promised to slow production. The VERY NEXT day, they announced the possible stike. Great timing, union guys. You fell right into the market's hands on this one.

 

you must be the poor sucker that cant negotiate a good agreement then c., or could the union not get you rehired after the upteenth shop rule violation for your stupidity? what would the management in those places have if it wasnt for the union, does the company just give them raises because they like them...NO but because they need to to keep them happy and from joining the other side.