Harley workers cheer, jeer proposal

[totalmotorcycle]

Harley workers cheer, jeer proposal
Members fret as union leaders explain why concessions should be considered
Monday, November 13, 2006 - By DARRYL ENRIQUEZ - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - jsonline.com



Several hundred Harley-Davidson union workers on Sunday applauded or jeered their labor officials who explained why the rank and file should consider sacrificing wages and benefits to ensure that 100 new motorcycle manufacturing jobs remain in Milwaukee.

Many questioned union leaders as to why a contract that apparently was good until 2008 should be opened by the membership for negotiation. Others left the membership meeting feeling confused, angry and helpless, knowing they have only until Tuesday to make up their minds.

"I thought I had a contract that was good until 2008," a longtime Harley worker said after the meeting. "This is a decision that really affects our future."

The 1,600 members of United Steelworkers of America Local 2-209 are wrestling with a Harley promise to expand a production line here instead of in another state, provided the union agrees to the concessions from its current contract. Union members will cast their votes at the plants in which they work.

The $120 million production expansion would reportedly create 100 new jobs.

"The gun's at our head and the bullet is in the gun," another worker said. "What can we do? Once those jobs are gone, they're gone."

Although many union members wanted to express their feelings publicly about the predicament, none wanted his or her name used for fear of retaliation at this volatile time among a tight-knit group of workers who assemble engines and transmissions.

Harley officials under the current contract can consider opening another production line either here or in another state when Milwaukee production lines are at capacity, union president Jim Wheiland said. An out-of-state site with a less expensive work force is an attractive alternative for many manufacturers, including Harley, experts say.

Last month, the union rejected by a wide margin Harley's initial request for wage and benefits concessions to help finance a new production line for motorcycle power trains here. The company asked that new employees hired after the first of next year be compensated through a lower wage scale. The request did not affect job security or the pay of current employees.

A second proposal now contains a company promise to expand here if the concessions are reached.

Many Harley factory workers earn more than $27 an hour. Under the proposed two-tier system, most of the new workers would earn an hourly wage of more than $20.

Some workers Sunday blamed the company and the union for turning against the rank and file. Following the membership veto of the initial proposal, labor and plant officials continued to search for a workable agreement, Wheiland said.

Some members interpreted that to be a betrayal of the overwhelming vote against the concessions. Current workers were being asked to contribute more toward health care, lose their cost of living wage adjustments and take reductions in pension benefits.

What makes the concessions difficult to accept is the $1 billion in profits that Harley is expected to bring in this year.

"The company lies. The bargaining unit lies. They should all have gone to church instead this morning," an angry employee shouted while walking quickly from the Wauwatosa meeting hall to his truck.

Wheiland responded that after the first vote, the membership clearly told him to continue talking with management.

A retiree at the meeting and friends said they supported the work of union leaders and that the membership should approve the measure in order to protect family-supporting jobs.

"I don't really think there's much of a choice here," he said.

"I have plenty to say, but not until after the vote," another worker said.

The union will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. today at the Ironworker's Hall, 12034 W. Adler Lane in West Allis to explain details of the Harley proposal to the public, Wheiland said.

"I'm not here to persuade people to vote one way or the other," Wheiland said. "I hear from both sides in the plant. People are for the proposal and others are deeply against it. I see the passion on both sides."