Many years ago when the Harley Davidson brand was floundering due to a weak economy and poor business decisions by the Corporation, it appeared that this company was well on its way to closing for good. A radical new plan was proposed which would require major sacrifices, especially on the part of labor, in order to save the company and as many jobs as possible. The plan worked. In fact, the company began to prosper and became a shining light for labor relations. During the turnaround, through cooperation with the IAM, an interesting concept was put in place. The concept was relatively new to manufacturing in the US and was called HPWO or high performance work output. This was essentially "just in time" manufacturing and a continuous improvement program. While the IAM lost many jobs and the remaining members lost a lot as far as pay and benefits, the company was saved, the brand was revived and the workers that were left went on to gain back much that was lost. Because of these great relations at one point around 2000, the plant in Kansas City reached an agreement a full six months before the old CBA expired. Management at the company was invited to conventions and Placid Harbor to work jointly with the Union to ensure all would prosper under this program. Now fast forward a little over twenty years and management has a completely different view towards its Unions and workforce. Here is a very disturbing article that describes the tough choice Wisconsin workers now face. I can tell you after reading the article management forgot who pulled their ass out of the fire. While we all want the company we work for to do well, too often the lunch bucket brigade is targeted unfairly to pay for poor choices and circumstances beyond their control.
So much for that shining light, as this story provides a cautionary tale that sacrifices made today probably won't be recognized in the future.
