| Author | Message | ||
     Two_buells |
http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/harley/ci_13902470 | ||
| Court |
Mike: Congrats ! Court | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
Congrats? More like Condolences. That is one brutal contract. | ||
| Madduck |
Congrats is definitely in order. Try and find an equivalent job within a hundred miles. Its a tough world out there now and everyone is taking a hit. | ||
| Uncleron |
I don't see any ceos taking a hit. Wall street criminals are not taking a hit. It seems that only people who actually work for a living are taking a hit. | ||
| Two_buells |
Harley is staying in York http://www.inyork.com/local/ci_13916472 | ||
| Court |
>>>I don't see any ceos taking a hit. Just out of curiousity where did you look? What do you base that on? Here in New York City . . . I know MANY folks who earn $400-$700/Yr who are out of work. In addition, when the administration started talking about capping salaries, I know four who simply quit until the national mood changes. I'm happy to hear about York. Made no sense to move several hundred miles. I **think** (I don't know, I am guessing) that the City of York has been better to HD than HD has been to the city. I hope that plant does well. | ||
| Charlies_s1 |
+1 | ||
| Toecutter |
I believe that they did the right thing by voting "Yes". I feel bad for the folks that will be out of a job. Those that will be left will have to contend with pay, hours, and benefits that are more on par with their non-union brethren. This had to happen, and now it has. It does make me wonder however, what is the function of a union in this economy? I believe that the unions' purpose has become merely to exist and collect as many dues from an ever-shrinking work force as it possibly can. Unless the economy not only recovers, but grows, I don't see any power in collective bargaining. | ||
| Court |
>>>I don't see any power in collective bargaining. I graduated with a Minor in Labor Law and Legislation back in 1977. One thing that ALWAYS struck me was that historically the balance of power has shifted to and fro and neither side has acted very responsibly. When labor had the mallet, they whacked management. When management got it back . . they beat the tar out of labor. You can look back to 1935 when Congress, citing the plight of the "helplessness of the exploited workingman" created the National Labor Relations Act, actually named the Wagner Act. By 1947 . . . sure enough the "formerly exploited and helpless workingman" was flexing his muscle and banging the tar out of employers . . .and, you guessed it . . we got the Taft-Hartley Act. That still wasn't enough and in 1959 we got the Landrum-Griffin Act. Having sat in on labor-management union negotiations for years . . . I approach the process much like I do buying a car. But . . . not many do. Needless to say . . . when you have reckless unions and management being refereed by politicians you can expect that there have been some fairly bizarre (can you say "card check") laws that various parties have tried to put in place. There is no shortage of laws that were passed and quickly declared unconstitutional. And. . yep . . even the Courts can stray as in the case, again due in part to a pronounced imbalance of power, when the NLRB, against the orders of several courts, ordered an employer to recognize a union even acknowledging that "an excessive number of vote cards were obtained by willful and fraudulent statements". Remember when your Mother told you . . . . "be honest, be fair and be responsible"? . . . not everyone got the lesson and they've variously profited and paid dearly for their abuses of power. | ||
| Endoman33 |
It is my opinion that HD took the book of business that the US government uses to run its business. Oh and its my opinion that the US government is a business and it was the worst run business until Mr.Wandell arrived at HD. Just my little rant  | ||
| Toecutter |
Good point Court. When you quoted my mother saying "be honest, be fair, and be responsible". I think that is exactly what happened in York by both parties. Harley is doing everything it can to keep from going under, and told the union exactly what it would take to keep that plant open. Apparently a majority in the union believed them, and IMO wisely voted "yes". I am not of the opinion that moving production to Kentucky was merely a scare tactic. Yes, because of the very difficult job market and necessary cost cutting measures, the balance of power is currently leaning in favor of management. This phenomena is not limited to Harley. Businesses all across the country have found themselves in a position of power over the unions. However, I believe that most businesses would much rather trade some of that power for a better market. |
