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Harley contract would create two-tiered labor force
Published September 7, 2010 - BizTimes Daily
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Union employees at Harley-Davidson are getting their first look at the Milwaukee company’s new labor contract proposal, which includes the creation of a two-tiered workforce, severance payments and the hiring of “casual” employees who will receive no benefits.
The company has said it needs to cut its Wisconsin labor costs or it may move production to Kansas City, Mo.
About 1,400 Wisconsin union workers of Harley are meeting today and Wednesday to learn about the wage and benefit concessions the company says it will need. The members of United Steelworkers of America Local 2209 in Milwaukee and Local 460 of Tomahawk will meet, as will members of the International Association of Machinists Lodge 78.
The tentative contract agreed to by the company and union leaders calls for the hiring of seasonal employees who will be paid $16.80 an hour compared, with $30.50 for regular, full-time employees.
The contract calls for creating a two-tier labor force in which regular employees would see no general wage increases in the second, third and fourth years of the contract. In the sixth and seventh years of the contract, wages could be increased commensurate to prevailing wages in the region. The company would retain the right to terminate the “casual” employees at any time.
Current full-time employees could receive a $12,000 one-time severance payment.
The rank-and-file union members will vote on the proposed contract on Monday, Sept. 13.
