To Deny Corporate Demands, Harley Workers Need HOGs to Rev Engines

[Omaha Steve]

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6383/to_deny_corporate_demands_harley_workers_need_hogs_to_rev_engines/

Tuesday August 31 3:23 pm

By Roger Bybee

As Harley-Davidson executives' conduct turns swinish, the company's workers may have to call out their natural allies, the HOGs (Harley owners' groups) to demand that Harley keep manufacturing in Milwaukee.



Imagine thousands of riders circling management headquarters on a roaring, revved-up, full-volume picket line. That would send a message that an important part of the public finds the company's blackmail tactics appalling.

Harley is demanding that the United Steel Workers (USW) Local 2-209 and International Association of Machinists fork over $54 million in concessions and "flexible manufacturing" rules by mid-September, or else say goodbye to 1,400-1,700 Wisconsin factory jobs.

“We can’t turn our back on as an option,” states Harley-Davidson President and CEO Keith Wendell, who alone stuffed $6,363,579 in his saddlebags in 2009. His predecessor Jeffrey Bleustein walked away with $42 million in stock options—yet Harley wants $54 million from its workers. Average Harley worker pay was only $32,048 in 2009.

By turning its back on Milwaukee workers and the community—who kept Harley alive and profitable through hard times—Harley management is forgetting that it risks losing enormous goodwill among working-class Harley owners if it decides to leave Milwaukee workers behind.

FULL story at link.

[napi21]

1. They REALLY don't want to pi** off the Harley owners!

They are the most loyal group of customers I've ever known and there really IS a lot of pride in their bikes. They're also fairly emotional people and the Corp. is risking their survival if they move their opps out of the USA.

[Gold Metal Flake]

2. Harley owners will BLAME the union for being greedy.

Two of the Harley riders I ride with certainly will.

[Fumesucker]

3. Yep, that's my take on it too..

Harley riders are not the same people they were when I started riding forty years ago.

Now they run strongly to wingnutism judging by the ones I know, I learned quite a while back not to talk politics with Harley riders, it's just not worth the grief.

Not all are like that but at least a substantial minority and in my experience it's an out and out majority.

[napi21]

4. That'snot the ones I know! nt

[Enthusiast]

5. The ones I know are

all right wing on every issue except when they work in a union shop. Then they are still right wing except for their local issues.