Good! Now I hope they get off their asses and get my tank and fender painted. I've been waiting for 3 months now.

 

I'm in sales (no union here!). I was downsized last fall. The remaining guy declined a recent pay cut (the competition cut their prices & the boss had to also to stay in the game) and quit. I was offered the deal.... less money, more territory..... did I want to work or not? I could still be at home right now having a "pity party" ..... I sucked it up and went to work.

 

Guess some people decided to skip the part in my post about HD's $21 million in profits in the 2nd quarter this year, does that sound like bankrupt conditions to you? Oops maybe HD should not have bought MV A and had to pay to get rid of it.......................that certainly would have saved the company from bankruptcy and maybe the workers pay scale!

Again I get drawn into these stupid debates...........

No one said the company owed the workers anything but the company feels it deserves good work from its workers. I never said the union was a cure all either. In the old days, many companies treated their workers like crap not to mention working conditions were unsafe at many places. OSHA and the EPA helped provide protection for workers health and safety as well as the environment, these things are non existent in Mexico and China to name a few. Unions were formed to help workers gain better pay and working conditions. In the days of the AMERICAN DREAM (long gone now), workers gave a fair days work for a fair days pay. Corporate Greed among management and shareholders some of you feel is acceptable, so why is it so terrible for the workers to dream about a slice of the big pie? Ya know like good pay and benefits even at a reduced rate from management? I have no problem making concessions to help save my job, have done so for many years now. I just do not agree with concessions when companies are still making money hand over fist and the execs and managers keep getting fatter on their pieces of the pie, all at the expense of the blue collar workers!

 

For the Harley worker and us-the consumer, Harley should come out with a new wecome to the family bull-****.My next bike will be a BMW.

 

wonder what it will do to quality,that in my opinion has already been slipping.

 

and by the way china is over now its even cheeper labor in india and brazil.

 

Not so. Check out the price difference between the '10 and '11 Ultra Limited. The price came down. So much for your "American Made" products not coming down in price...

 

Labor contracts are "bargaining agreement". The Union doesn't go in there and tell the Company "We're going to get so much for the workers in benefits and you're going to pay the workers this much". The Company and Union work out a deal that is beneficial to both.

If a company is making profits and agree to pay the union workers a certain wage/benefit package it is because they can afford it. It would be stupid to allow the workers to be paid so much that the company cannot make a profit.

+1 on the question: How big a pay cut,pay freeze,benefit cut,reduction of force did corporate/management take?

I think some of us are drinking the Corporate America/HD Kool Aid. If you don't make enough money then go out and get a Union job. You'll be glad you did.

 

You are correct about the price of the limited Navy, but most if not all the rest the prices stayed the same. Ya think maybe since all these people are working for less money, maybe they cant afford that much bike? Maybe the sales figures would justify a price drop............just think how many more Street Glides or Softails would sell with a price drop as well. Just sayin...........

 

wow the unions are going to take down hd. what bs. i guess all those non union desk jockeys working for those wall street firms took down all those companys......think again. it was those folks that where put in place to make sure a profit was being made.....wow