If it wasn't for the unions you'd be working in a sweatshop for nothing,no holidays,no vacations,7 days a week,kissin your bosses a*** every morning and Twice on a weekend day.Look at all the screwups in upper management getting paid millions for doin what???? Get at job at Walmart-they'll treat you good,give you great benefits and give you a title "team member".

 

It is just a bad world economy - we are all fighting to stay one step ahead of the game.

 

Guy's, it's simple economics,supply and demand,this all started at the top with the banks and investment ripoffs and it has trickled down to you and I,how many of you pay MSRP for a car? for food? for anything? except Harley stuff,we pay MSRP for the Bike and then for all the access. who can or wants too afford that in these times? very few,i have a fiend who sells 2 lines of japanese biks and sales are good,they are selling at discounts right now which is what MOCO should be doing.

 

This is not a surprise - it's Standard Operating Practice for HD. They control supply to preserve demand. If they didn't, the brand would lose value. It's tough on the employees, but it keeps the company strong.

Look at what's happened with the auto industry - they started cutting prices with deals and rebates. Now they're trapped in a downward spiral. Low demand, low profits, and overproduction all at the same time.

 

I agree with you 100%.

 

IF YOUR GOING TO SELL IT IN THE USA, THEN MAKE IT HERE!! CHINA has three times our population, they can keep their factories going making products for their people. Bring our factories jobs back. I'll gladly take a little pollution, and have gainfully emploed people for the trade-off.

 

It's not the pollution - it's the WAGES. You want those jobs back for $3 an hour?

 

+ 1 what he said

 

yep harleys stock is down to about $12.00 its dropped about 75% this last year

its hard times out there if your not employed you are really screwed.. hope

we get thru this soon-ride safe

 

I feel sad for the workers. I know what it's like to loose a job, it can destroy people's lives. Many loose there homes, life savings, even their marriages.

In my father's day, a man could find a good blue collar job in manufacturing and earn a decent living. If he worked hard and watched his nickles, he could end up putting his kids through school, owning his home, and even have a bit of a retirement fund built up. Those days are gone. Jobs like that are harder and harder to come by, and that's the reality we live in. The cause is very complex, and not as simple as some would claim. You can't simply blame this on unions, or management, or overseas jobs, the government, etc.

I hope one of the biggest lessons we learn out of this mess we are in right now is that Wall Street cannot continue to judge a company solely on last quarter's numbers, management must look at the long term health of the companies, and that unions and management must find ways to compromise and be productive in order to protect jobs. Part of the reason we're in this mess is all because of stock prices. Everyone wants to earn 10% a year, so companies did whatever it took to make that happen. We see the results of those risks, and now we are borrowing on future generations to pay for it.

Rant mode off.