Two labor unions that represent most of the production
employees at Harley-Davidson Inc. say they’ve terminated an agreement with the
company that had fostered collaboration and joint decisions on a wide range of
issues.
The United Steelworkers and the International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace Workers say ending the agreement, which was in
place for 22 years, sends a message that relations with Milwaukee-based Harley
have soured.
“It has become apparent to me that for the last
seven years Harley-Davidson has been, and continues to, systematically
dismantle its hourly workforce through various means,” said Robert Martinez
Jr., president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers.
Employees are still covered under the current union
contracts, and nothing in those contracts has changed, yet the written
collaboration agreement was important, according to Martinez.
“It worked well for many years. But Harley-Davidson has
changed their direction on the way they’ve communicated with, and dealt with,
our leadership teams in the plants,” he said.
"Harley would just unilaterally make decisions on
what they were going to do," without the unions' endorsement, he added.
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers Local 175's contract covering unionized workers at Harley's plant
in Springettsbury Township runs until October 2022.
Brian Zarilla, president of Local 175, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The United Steelworkers doesn't represent workers at
the Springettsbury Township plant said Wayne Ranick, a Steelworkers
union spokesman.
Harley-Davidson is eliminating 118 jobs at its facility
in Springettsbury Township as the company shifts all production of its cruiser
motorcycles to its plant in Kansas City. Eileen Joyce, York
Daily Record
Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Patricia Sweeney said the
unions' decision to pull out of the agreement won't change the company's
approach to dealing with workplace issues.
"We will continue to work very closely with (the
unions) to resolve issues, to address challenges, and to make improvements that
are really important in helping move the business forward. And just as
importantly we remain committed to working with the international union
leadership as well," Sweeney said.
In May, Harley-Davidson upset the unions when it
announced plans to operate a motorcycle assembly plant in Thailand.
The company said the plant, scheduled to open in 2018,
wouldn’t result in any U.S. job losses and that it would assemble bikes from
components produced at U.S. facilities.
However, union officials argued it would take work from
the United States and that it was one of multiple steps the company had taken
to weaken its unionized workforce.
"Building motorcycles abroad is a slap in the face
to every one of our members. We find it appalling that the company continues to
dismantle what we built up for all these years," Martinez said.
The Thailand plant is necessary, Sweeney said, as Asia is
one of Harley's fastest-growing markets and the Thailand tariff on motorcycles
assembled in the United States is about 60%.
The growth overseas comes as the U.S. motorcycle market
has been in sharp decline, and analysts say the outlook isn't very
promising.
"We have been working very hard to reverse the
declining trend, but we have also had to make difficult adjustments that impact
many employees in the U.S.," Sweeney said about layoffs and furloughs at
the plants here.
Union officials cited job losses and the use of seasonal,
temporary employees in the motorcycle factories as two of their top
concerns.
“When we had 2,000 members in York, Pa., in 2010, and
today there are only 600, there’s a problem,” Martinez said.
Temporary furloughs are expected at the plants this fall,
including the Menomonee Falls factory that employs about 1,000 production
workers. The company also is eliminating about 180 production jobs, with the
Menomonee Falls and Kansas City locations expected to be hit the hardest.
"Certainly it's been tough on our union employees,
given the number of layoffs that we've had and down days. And we recognize that
has had a significant personal and financial impact on them," Sweeney
said.
The company needs to grow its way out of the
slump, according to Sweeney.
"We believe that if we can bring new riders into the
sport, here in the U.S. and internationally, that is going to result in company
growth. And that growth is the only path to reverse the conditions we have been
facing over the last couple of years," she said.
Union leaders said they met with Harley-Davidson CEO Matt
Levatich on Monday.
Levatich agreed to work with them to resolve staffing
issues, according to the unions.
"I guess we will just have to wait and see what
happens and what he means," Steelworkers
spokesman Ranick said.
"Things aren't working like they have in the past
... This partnership has broken down," Ranick said.
Until now, union leaders said, the partnership was
helpful in settling workplace issues that otherwise could have escalated.
"The intent was to be interactive, and not just in
solving problems but also in things like production improvements and to really
encourage people to step up and talk about how to make things
better," Ranick said.
The unions say they’re willing to reinstate the agreement
if the company addresses issues such as job security.
"Both unions strongly believe that
seniority has to count for something when it comes to job security,
instead of leaving it to management discretion alone," Martinez
said.
The use of temporary, seasonal employees also has
to be resolved, according to union leaders.
"There is no way I will put this agreement back in
place until then," Martinez said.
Source: YDR.com
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