92lowrider
Bothell, Wa.
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Joined: 08/30/2006
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As a Union Member who is on Strike at this Moment Im with you!
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10ecjazzman
Nashville, Tennessee
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Joined: 01/24/2007
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This article was printed last October. It refers to carmakers but you get the point.
'When Honda Motor Co. announced last year that it was building a new plant amid the farms of southeastern Indiana, Hoosiers cheered. Then Honda announced in August that only people living in 20 of the state's 92 counties could apply for jobs -- a move that excluded most of the state's thousands of unionized laid-off auto workers.
Honda's unusual hiring restriction highlights an often overlooked aspect of the United Auto Workers union's declining power. While Detroit's big auto makers and their unionized suppliers have been slashing jobs, wages and benefits, foreign car companies have added U.S. plants and created thousands of new automotive jobs. Yet they have effectively kept auto workers with UAW membership cards out of their factories, hampering the union from gaining any foothold where the jobs are.
Of the 33 auto, engine and transmission plants in the U.S. that are wholly owned by foreign companies, none have been organized by the UAW, despite repeated attempts. Mainly, foreign auto makers have located plants in Southern states where the UAW has little presence and where right-to-work laws limit union power. When they have ventured into Northern states such as Indiana and Ohio, they have mostly chosen rural locations far from any unionized plants and UAW halls. The moves now are helping the foreign-owned plants begin to lower wage scales.
In the case of Honda's latest plant, in Greensburg, Ind., the company received $140 million in tax breaks and other incentives, at least $50 million of it in statewide funds. But the company wasn't required to consider all state residents for jobs.'
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kzgb
Lake Effect, Indiana
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Joined: 03/30/2003
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10ecjazzman, in a weird twist, the place i work for makes the steel that honda will use. we are building a new galvanizing line that will create 100 steelworker jobs.we also supply suburau and toyota. when we do vendor visits to these places they won't let us near the production employees. we have met up with some of those production employees after hours in the bars and they tell us that they are not treated anywhere close to what the companies want us to believe. again, sorry to hijack the thread, i didn't mean to turn it into a union vs non-union thing.
1976 Kawasaki KZ900LTD
2004 Victory Vegas
Only a Motorcyclist knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window
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Ride_Slow2004
Northwest
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Joined: 02/02/2005
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kzgb wrote: i didn't mean to turn it into a union vs non-union thing.
But that is truly part of what makes our country run. I am mixed on the union issue, but very strong on buying American. The hard part is when a union takes a short range position, to look good to the membership, and the company owner says to himself, (or board) we can do this in Mexico or Canada. I am not pleased that Victory does not allow union labor, that will factor into what I buy, in 2013.
Since we are off the track, buy local. Your business owners in your town are the ones contributing to the Food Bank, the Child Services, and the Civic Clubs, like Lions and Kiwanis.
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"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles."
-Doug Larson
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10ecjazzman
Nashville, Tennessee
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I know I am not supposed to understand high finance business deals but I can't figure out HD buying MV Agusta. MV was in bankruptcy in 2004 and bought out of it by a Malaysian investment group. It was then sold to an Italian group in 2006 because of huge losses and mounting debt. In rides HD to buy MV and assume all its debt in a year when HD cut back shipments of bikes and reduced its workforce. HD wants to increase its European presence. Quote from HD exec:"This gives us a better way to get into that and understand that customer base at a different level than we're currently playing at." Guess HD has us all figured out..better work on gettin some euros! And don't think we will be getting a great sportbike out of this deal. MV only sold 330 bikes in the US last year.
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THEBurninator
Washburn, MO
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Joined: 08/11/2003
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I'd love to have an MV. I'm surprised they only sold 330 bikes. In fact, I've probably seen more MV's in this area than Triumphs.
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10ecjazzman
Nashville, Tennessee
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I just saw that 330 sold number in a business magazine somewhere online. You know how accurate things are on the internet. Maybe HD is doing the right thing. Maybe its another case of a good product being mishandled by the ownership. I have never seen a MV but I live in Nashville and the closest dealer is in Atlanta. Getting back on track..I was curious if MV Agusta had bought HD, would the HD faithful still buy the bikes.
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Tommy Tune
Newark, De. 19713
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Joined: 08/12/2004
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I just hate to see jobs go away. Besides that, the quality of the product is never the same when products are made abroad. I'm not saying that there are not good products made in Britian or Japan. There are but......if a company decides to ship something somewhere else, they're cutting corners in some way, shape or form.
92 Lowrider,
I hope and pray that the greedy bastards give you what you deserve. Good luck and hang in there, brother.
Quote:Getting back on track..I was curious if MV Agusta had bought HD, would the HD faithful still buy the bikes
My faithfulness ends when their's does and they're already half way there. It's that simple.
I’m martyr to a motion not my own - Author Unknown
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Tommy Tune
Newark, De. 19713
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Somehow my post got published twice. So I had to add something.
Ride safe, lads.
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THEBurninator
Washburn, MO
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Anyone who thinks the Japanese don't make quality products aren't paying attention. I've owned three Japanese bikes and never had issues with them.
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