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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2009)
DEC-Holiday-2009 :Holiday Issue 12/15/09 9:47 AM Page 16 Harley workers vote to cut jobs YORK, Pa. — U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. will keep its largest motorcyle assembly plant in York, Pennsylvania, after workers there — members of Machinists Lodge 175 — ratified a new seven-year contract that calls for massive job cuts and no wage increases. According to Reuters, under the new structure the company will reduce its hourly workforce of 1,950 union mem- bers to just 1,000. Of those, 700 to 800 will be full-time unionized workers. About 200 to 300 will be unionized “ca- sual” staff, working when needed. At one time, the facility that makes Touring and Softail model motorcycles employed more than 2,600 Machinists and 3,000 employees overall. It expects to reduce its salaried employees by half, to about 150. Several Southern states offered gen- erous incentives to get Harley to move operations to their state, and the com- pany was not bashful about hanging that over workers’ heads. That was the choice workers had when they voted the new contract in 1,587 to 193. In addition to the job losses, the con- tract slashes pay raises until 2017, in- creases employee health insurance costs, and cuts paid time off, union officials told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Harley-Davidson is headquartered in Milwaukee. The contract calls for the possibility of wage increases and bonuses in the later years based on the plant’s perform- ance and a wage survey for York County. Active employees as of Dec. 2 will re- ceive a $1,000 payment, according to the union, and employees losing their jobs can choose severance pay and a $10,000 bonus, or they can decline it and be eli- gible for a work recall. “It’s going to be a long haul before we gain anything back,” Tom Santone, directing business representative for the IAM’s District 98 in York, told the Jour- nal Sentinel. “But, to tell you the truth, I got a look of relief from a lot of people when they saw that the contract was ap- proved. Everyone has been extremely concerned for their jobs and their fami- lies for quite some time.” Santone said Harley will make $90 million in improvements to the York fa- cility and that “quite a bit of work” will be outsourced. The State of Pennsylvania has com- mitted $15.4 million to help pay for the capital improvement and retraining. Harley-Davidson has had reduced sales since the recession began, but has continued to show a profit in every quar- ter, including $164 million in the first nine months of 2009. CEO Keith Wandell was hired earlier this year. IN MEMORIAM R ALPH K AUFMAN , a re- tired secretary-treasurer of Portland Auto Mechanics Lodge 1005, passed away Nov. 27 at the age of 101. Kaufman retired from the union in 1971 after serving for over 17 years as S-T. Ralph Fremont Kaufman was born Oct. 31, 1908, in Nappanee, Indiana. He grew up in Cando, North Dakota. After graduating from high school, Kauf- man took classes in machine shop and auto body repair at the North Dakota State School of Science. He met his wife of 70 years, the former Solveig Borreson, while she was visiting in Cando. They married on Sept. 6, 1936. She preceded him in death on Sept. 12, 2007 at age 93. Kaufman came to Portland in 1937, and was hired by the Harry S. Hill Co. In l942 he went to work in a wartime shipyard on Swan Island and joined Machinists Lodge 63. Later he worked at the A. Young and Sons ma- chine shop, the American Can plant, Marine Electric and Bingham Pump. His next job was at Freightliner, where he was hired in 1949. In that job he transferred his membership to Machinists Lodge 1005. He stayed at Freightliner until 1953, when he was elected secretary-treasurer. Kaufman served on the committee that arranged the 1956 merger of the Portland labor councils of the Amer- ican Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions (CIO). He also was a delegate to the Portland convention the same year that approved the merger estab- lishing the Oregon AFL-CIO. He served as the secretary-treas- urer of Machinists District 24 and as a delegate from Oregon to the Machin- ists Non-Partisan Political League’s conferences in Washington, D.C. Active in politics, Kaufman held an elected Democratic precinct com- mitteeman post in his Woodstock neighborhood in Southeast Portland. Kaufman helped establish the Ma- chinists District 24 Federal Credit Union in the 1950s. In recognition of his work, he was given Account #1. He served on the planning com- mittee that in the mid-1960s built the present Machinists Building at 3645 SE 32nd Ave. just off Pow- ell Boulevard. Kaufman is survived by sons Murlan and Richard; five grandchil- dren and six great-grand- children. Remembrances may be made to Providence Hospice or a charity of your choice. J OHN B ROWN , a retired executive di- rector of the Oregon School Employ- ees Association, died Nov. 17 at age 88. Brown served as executive direc- tor of OSEA for 22 years, retiring in 1990. He was OSEA president from 1956 to 1958, and one of the founding mem- bers of the American Association of Classified School Employees (AACSE). John Brown was born July 17, 1921 in Fresno, Calif. The sev- enth of 10 chil- dren, he dropped out of high school at 16 so he could work to help support his mother and younger siblings. They moved to Ore- gon and lived in Alsea. Brown joined the Marines in 1942 and was stationed at Guadalcanal dur- ing World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1945. It was while home on leave that he met Norma Conklin. They were mar- ried July 7, 1946 in Salem. The couple bought and managed a grocery store in East Salem for a year. Then, John started working for the Salem School District, doing mainte- nance work. He got a job in the district warehouse as a deliveryman. After four years of working for the district, he at- tended a union meeting, which led to a union career that lasted 47 years. Brown is survived by his wife; a daughter; two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Salem First Christian Church, 685 Marion St., NE, Salem, OR 97301. GE expands production on union- made Energy Star washing machines General Electric in Louisville, KY will add a second shift to increase produc- tion of its Energy Star washing machines at the company’s Appliance Park factory, reported the Union Label & Service Trades Dept., AFL-CIO. The move will add 90 union jobs to the production line, where workers are rep- resented by the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers, an affiliate of Communications Workers of America. The company also intends to expand production on a new energy efficient wa- ter heater in 2011, a move that would add an estimated 420 union jobs at an aver- age payroll of $57,440. The company’s $69 million expansion plans were spurred by a concessionary agreement signed by the union last May, along with $12 million worth of state and local tax incentives. PAGE 16 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS DECEMBER 18, 2009
