Just a bluff to get more incentives to stay, they aren't going anywhere.

 

I hope the union members in Wisconsin look to see what the union leadership did in killing Detroit and vote them all out and work with management before they lose their jobs too. HD should follow the lead of BMW bikes, build for their market and do what it takes to stay in business.

 

Maybe they will move to Hawaii and take all their employee's on a much deserved life move....after all who else is more dedicated to the machine than the generations of families who helped build them thru thick and thin...then again, we are a country built by American's for American's.....with a few immigrants thrown in for good measure....O'wait my ancestor's were immigrants (Irish and German)and unless you are a Native Indian..your's were also immigrant's....Maybe the next Harley museum will be built in Irland and when i visit i can see some relative's.....

 

You certainly have a better understanding and grasp of the issues than many that post on the union subject.

 

They can put a new plant up on some of my property, Incentives? Hell I'll let them run an extension cord from my barn and tie into my well! Taxes are pretty low out here in the woods, and no traffic. Union Problems? We ain't even got Credit Unions out here. Give me a call Harley, I can work as an excutive a couple hours here and there.(if it ain't huntin season).

 

This story hit hard. The company I work for (close to 15 yrs now) is 70 yrs old this year, was private then went public back in the early 2000s. However, since the early 90s, the company started to see tremendous growth and added work locations w/in the US to lower cost locations (i.e. South and SE) from the hub in Chicago area (prob a 10-15% compensation difference). They had 4 huge buildings housing thousands of employees in Chicago area, now, down to 1 building. Then, once we became public, came the move to even lower cost locations, India. Now Poland. Where do the US jobs go? Over seas where companies can pay workers 10% of the US compensation, do not pay health care and other benefits that US employees get, all in the sake of meeting the quarterly numbers.

Layoff employees = rise in stock price (however, it creates a huge burden on the family, friends, foreclosure, main street, etc..). All in the name to lower costs and increased in shareholder return.

I know HD is based on WI, but I'd rather keep the manufacturing in the US, than shipping it overseas.

I hope this turns out good for everyone (even though it may not).

 

Incentives? If they are talking about incentives from Wisconsin or Milwaukee to stay, that's just another word for private companies wanting more money from the taxpayer.

 

I think there are several large manufacters in the US that are looking to break the unions. Years ago, unions were neccessary, but in todays enviroment I think they are a thing of the past. I also agree with an earlier comment that the unions are just as big a business as the companies they work for. It has been proven by many oversees manufacters that you can make products for the US, in the US. Just look at Honda and BMW. Of course, they had to go the southern US to do it.

Employers do not owe anything to its employees except for the wages they earned for the work they did. Everything else is just an extra, an extra that can be had when economic times allow. Just my thoughts.

 

I would put most of the reason for HD moving to leaner pastures at the unions feet. Previous posts reference the unions abusing their purpose. What do the workers bring to the table other than the group bully tactics for more money? While management needs to keep up with business strategies through evening training, what do the laborers do to improve themselves for the business effort? Yeah, there may be the occasional worker who puts himself through school on his own to improve his personal skills, and they benefit from that, but the union bosses keep the workers down by not encouraging them to improve themselves, but instead, provide the life long, lessor paycheck. A lot of the union members don't even see it that way. They just see the easy payraise at someone else's expense.
Just for the record, I was a UAW member, not by choice, when I worked at the Ford Wixom plant in 1973. Even then, I thought it was kinda strange, takin what wasn't really earned. I learned the whole assembly line job in about a half hour and was bein paid about $12 an hour.

 

Dang, this Droid keeps causing a double post.