Another two-tier labor contract: Harley-Davidson (Steelworkers/Machinists & Aerospace)

[Hannah Bell]

Workers at Harley-Davidson’s motorcycle plants in Menomonee Falls, near Milwaukee, and Tomahawk, Wisconsin this week approved massive concessions demanded of them by the United Steel Workers of America (USW) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

The concessions are staggering. They include a seven-year wage freeze, sharp increases in workers’ contributions to their health care coverage, and the creation of a “sub-tier” of seasonal or casual workers who will receive no benefits whatsoever and earn starting pay of $16.80, about half what current workers make.

These “lower tier” or “casual employees” can be terminated without cause, and will be offered no job security or even a minimum number of work hours. They will have no right to either bonuses or wage increases. Of course, this new category of workers will still be required to pay dues to the USW and IAM.

The new contract includes no guarantees for job protection, meaning that the company will have a vested interest in replacing longer-standing workers with the new low-paid casual workers.


http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/sep2010/harl-s17.shtml



This seems to be a manufacturing-wide strategy, pioneered by GM with Delphi.

Everybody's going to be working for $12/hour, no benefits, fire at will. The right-to-work nation.

If you own a consumer business that's not walmart or mcdonalds, you'd better start thinking about who's going to buy from you -- because unless you cater to the top 10%, you're not going to have many customers after the public unions & the manufacturing sector unions are gutted.

[madrchsod]

1. 7 yrs and hiring scabs...that`s one fucked up contract for the workers....

[Gaedel]

3. I wouldn't call the new workers "scabs"

They will be working under a union contract negotiated by the union.

They will get paid a lot less than the current workers who sold them out to retain their own pay and benefits.

Did they willingly sell out the new guys or was there pressure from the union hierarchy? I do not know.

[madokie]

2. We started down this road in earnest with the installment of a saint ronnie raygun

They stole that election just as sure as the cheney crew stole the '00 and '02 ones

rec'd already wish I could again