Harley Davidson Scouting Sites
Company executives are sitting down with union leaders this week in order to find a way for Harley to stay in Wisconsin. The production workers’ contract expires in 20 months.
A company spokesperson has stated that scouts are already investigating other cities for its engine and transmission departments.
As I said in the past, Harley is selling a luxury item in a down economy to a demographic that is trading in their hogs for condos in Florida. They haven’t done a good job in adapting their product offering (granted, it’s hard to do when the lion’s share of your product is the image), so they are left with trying to cut production costs.
Make no mistake, any other city that has the prospect of having a HD production plant will be very happy to have it.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 0603 hrs
Mercury Marine dejavu anyone? Let’s see if HD union leaders learned anything from that scenario.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 0630 hrs
Harley has no intension of staying in Wi. Why would they want to stay in a non freindly buisness state with a high paid uinion. They will get some other state to build them a new factory, pay for them to move, exempt them from state taxws for 10 years. A work force that will work for $8-$10 an hour and do what they are told with no complaints.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 0709 hrs
Perhaps the West Bend Mayor and her director of community development (Aunt Bee and Opey) could woo them into town with promises of free contaminated property.
You can pay your people cheap Harley, we have all the housing in the works. Whatever you want just ask, the RDA can grant you anything. With the influx of a cheap labor pool and a stampede of starving artists as somebody else dreams of, heck we may qualify for another Wal Mart on the north side.
Let the good times roll.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1048 hrs
When State, County, City, workers retire they move to States with lower taxes. Harley will move out Wisconsin to a State that has lower taxes. Wi is a Tax Hell.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1049 hrs
—-> Mexico
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1214 hrs
I doubt they will move to Mexico. A big part of their marketing is the “Made in the USA”
However, Texas or Kentucky (my bet is on Kentucky) would allow them to cut their costs by 2/3 AND they won’t have to deal with such a horrible union. (H-D has THE worst union)
Will corporate stay in Milwaukee is the big question. Frankly if I was them - I’d move the whole thing.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1249 hrs
Like it or not, the reality is that companies are like free agents in sports. Cities and states must compete to get them. If you want to have jobs and a growing economy, you must make it attractive for companies to be there. You don’t want to give a way more than the economic benefit, but you can’t run them off like WI does.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1547 hrs
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They write that Microsoft, Merck and Sears earned $18 billion in combined profits in 2005; however, Wisconsin corporate income taxes were zero.
WISTAX, when they dig into the marrow of WI taxes, puts WI in the middle of the 50 states when comparing the state’s tax burden to other states (Taxes on Low Income Families May 2007, Vol. 75, No. 5, back cover) -
A PDF from wisconsinsfuture.org for consideration
Harley-Davidson: It’s NOT About TaxesPosted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1626 hrs
Looks like JP will be shocked when Harley moves south in order pay less in state taxes…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 1640 hrs
I would not be surprised.
WI bars its counties from playing dutch auction against other.
The HD corporate heads will find some cities and county boards and a few big heads in several state’s capitols willing to give big subsidies (provided by state and local taxpayers) and years of tax breaks if Harley moves in. WI will try to counteroffer with our own taxpayer supplied subsidies and tax breaks (Mercury Marine in Fon du Lac has provided the perfect historical outline).
Regardless, Harley CEO, corporate heads, and stock holders win. The “winner” will be the city that dutch auctions the lowest beyond factory movement and reconstruction costs. If Harley stays in WI, remaining businesses and corporations and taxpayers will pick up HD’s tab for the benefit of having HD here. Meanwhile, the squeeze will have been put on the union to renegotiate lower.
No shock at all. It business. Kill or be killed.
It’s easy for politicians to give away what ain’t their own when they promise jobs. I do hope if HD moves that the majority of folks will be able to travel and keep their living, regardless.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 22, 2010 at 2326 hrs
Will the union be blamed if in the future HD pulls of WI despite tax breaks and subsidies like in the Chrysler Corp. Kenosha to Mexico move? Thompson and the Democratic Legislature gave Chrysler Corp. $98 million to help keep Chrysler Corp. plants in Wisconsin. Last year, Chrysler chose to shutter its Kenosha engine plant and move the jobs to Mexico. 800 people’s jobs - poof. Kenosha union workers had accepted concessions in 2006 to persuade Chrysler to update the Kenosha plant to produce a new, more fuel-efficient engine. Union workers in Kenosha in April/May ‘09 had agreed to more concessions, including a six-year wage freeze (Journal Sentinel)
It’s the schadenfreude directed at the HD union laborers I find surprising, as if they are the primary cause of HD scouting for new sites.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 23, 2010 at 0833 hrs
“A work force that will work for $8-$10 an hour and do what they are told with no complaints.”
Ah yes, the American dream.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 23, 2010 at 1048 hrs
It’s easy for politicians to give away what ain’t their own…
Well said, JP…. Would this go for the Patty, Joey C, & the West Bend School District?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 23, 2010 at 1106 hrs
It’s the schadenfreude directed at the HD union laborers I find surprising, as if they are the primary cause of HD scouting for new sites.
In many ways, Mr. Penterman, it is the union. Do you anybody there by chance? I worked there, the spousal unit worked there. If you read about what Harley is going after its “flexibility”. You won’t get that with the union rules.
True stories
The union fought to reinstate (with back-pay, including overtime) two off-shift individuals that had been fired when caught with duplicate badges. Why is this bad? Because they were taking turns badging each other in and out while the other would go sit in the bar. The union won. The two individuals ended up with an extended paid vacation in essence.Grievances were filed for additional pay if any office personnel would move a box in their office.
An individual was awarded a “choice” skilled-trades position paying over !00K with overtime solely because of his seniority. Problem? He couldn’t physically perform the job. But they had to award it to him anyway.
Another individual was out on extended disability for a back injury. His supervisor was able to take pictures of him roofing his humble abode and he was dismissed. The union got him reinstated with 6 months full backpay with overtime.
There is an individual in his early 70’s that works every minute of overtime offered to him (he is receiving SS as well) to the tune of over 100K. He changes lightbulbs.
When the spousal unit first started, he was threatened with physical harm if he didn’t slow down and stop doing so much.
That, is just a sampling….
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 23, 2010 at 2049 hrs
If these samples are sound, I accept in some ways it is the union; however, here are examples of some seriously pathetic administration attributes and an equally pathetic administrative negotiations team.
Samples like these are bad for moral in any workplace, union or otherwise.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 23, 2010 at 2229 hrs
The reason this is considered a crisis is that when people grow old, they no longer work, or have to work less. This puts strain on an economy, because you fewer people trying to support more people who are not working. Or at least that’s how the theory goes.
Facebook ApplicationPosted by Facebook Application on July 24, 2010 at 0423 hrs
It isn’t just the taxes and unions, even though that is the primary thing going.
It is about a failed political class running things in Wisconsin. Belling brought up a great point yesterday in regards to the flooding. Only Milwaukee and Shorewood had the massive problems. Why? Combined sewers.
Yet Barrett and Doyle think spending a billion dollars plus on trains no one will use would be more productive than say putting that money into fixing the sewer situation.
Flooded neighborhoods….raw sewage stinking up our “competitive advantage” of water that they keep touting…..all so a few politically correct lib attorneys can use their Ipad in an air conditioned train ride to Madison.
There is a dysfunctional “culture” here and the tax issue is but a symptom of it.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 24, 2010 at 0809 hrs
The Scouts did their own navigation. The special show of the German Federation of Body and Automotive Engineering covers the fields of repair painting, bodywork repairs and damage management.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 26, 2010 at 0704 hrs
I dont think they will ever move out of state not to mention the country. These people are branding experts they know what would be a dagger to the heart.
The newer models are doing quite well with gen x and gen y , the numbers are quite staggering, if they can drop in price a bit that could be the edge they need. The union making concessions will play a huge roll in this.
Sure the boomers are aging and its a huge customer base, but this company is already re-inventing itself with younger people creating brand loyalty.
If being green is the new cool you look even cooler commuting in on a Harley. Smart cars are efficient but lets face it they are dorky.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 26, 2010 at 1644 hrs
We may feel tired sometimes, but it will past away quickly.
Posted by christian louboutin shoes on July 29, 2010 at 0423 hrs
Harley has no intension of staying in Wi. Why would they want to stay in a non freindly buisness state with a high paid uinion.
Posted by mens jeans on July 30, 2010 at 0639 hrs
sounds not bad
Posted by pradaoutlet on August 03, 2010 at 0359 hrs
Come on down to a State with a sensible tax structure (no individual income taxes) and educated, hard working, eager employees. Sound like IAM in Milwaukee? Florida is a right-to-work state and we just love GREAT companies like Harley Davidson.
Come on down.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 06, 2010 at 2032 hrs
your post is so wonderful!what you said is so reasonable,i am agree with you very much,thank you
Posted by Vibram Fivefingers on August 08, 2010 at 1027 hrs
Hope the ecnomic will turn good! and everyone should try to support ourselves.
Posted by deal christ on August 14, 2010 at 0017 hrs
They haven’t done a good job in adapting their product offering (granted, it’s hard to do when the lion’s share of your product is the image), so they are left with trying to cut production costs.
Posted by Juicy Couture on August 19, 2010 at 2221 hrs
Perhaps the West Bend Mayor and her director of community development (Aunt Bee and Opey) could woo them into town with promises of free contaminated property.
Posted by Juicy Couture on August 19, 2010 at 2226 hrs
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