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from here... http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories /2009/11/16/daily76.html?ana=yfcpc The union representing hourly workers at Harley-Davidson Inc.’s plant in York, Pa., have reached a tentative seven-year deal with company management that cuts the plant's work force in half and likely places the factory's fate in the hands of the union members. The agreement, aimed at keeping the factory operating, still needs to be ratified by the union before Harley-Davidson management decides whether it wants to keep the plant or move operations elsewhere. “We have concluded negotiations and reached a proposed agreement,” said Bob Klein, spokesman for the Milwaukee-based heavyweight motorcycle manufacturer. Under the agreement, the work force at the plant would be slashed from its current level of 1,950 employees to about 1,000 workers, Klein said. The pared down work force would consist of 700 to 800 full-time production workers and 200 to 300 “casual” employees, who would be part of the union but would work on an “as needed” basis during peak production periods and to fill in for employees during sick leave and vacations, Klein said. The agreement is designed to allow Harley-Davidson to “resize” its operations in York, make the work force more flexible and the operations more cost efficient, he said. The agreement provides a competitive wage and benefits package, Klein said. Wages for current full-time employees would remain relatively unchanged, he said. The weighted average wage rate under the proposed agreement across all wage classifications would be $24.73 per hour in the first year, Klein said. The weighted average wage rate for new employees would be $19.52 under the new agreement. The proposed contract wouldn’t provide for a wage increase until 2015. However, workers would have an opportunity to earn performance-based bonuses of up to 3 percent annually. If workers ratify the agreement on Dec. 2, Harley-Davidson management then will make a final decision whether to keep the York plant open or shift operations to a new facility in Shelbyville, Ky. However, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday said the likelihood of Harley relocating its plant to Shelbyville was “significantly diminished,” according to published reports. The York facility is Harley’s largest and produces Touring and Softail motorcycles. All production in York would be shifted to the Softail facility, which opened in 2003. The York manufacturing complex consists of several buildings, some of which would be shuttered, including the current Touring plant, if Harley-Davidson decides to keep production in York, Klein said. The new agreement also would reduce the number of job classifications to five from 60 under the old contract, Klein said. Workers at the York plant are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 175. “I think management and union leadership worked very diligently to reach the proposed agreement,” he said |
