August 24, 2009
Shame on Mercury Marine
Once upon a time it was the law of the land to encourage collective bargaining. The rationale was clear. America would be more productive if workers and managers worked together. Industrial peace was a primary goal. And the theory was that rule-making by democracy in the plant was preferable to government imposition of rules.
Ah, but that was before ant-labor people were appointed to the National Labor Relations Board; before President Reagan destroyed the Air Traffic Controllers union; before Democrats looked to business for campaign dough. Kevin Phillips said, "It is no disgrace that Republicans support management. The disgrace is that the party of working people, the Democratic Party, opposes labor." Example--credit for NAFTA goes to the Clinton administration.
It used to be illegal for a company to threaten to close or move jobs as a bargaining tactic. Ah, used to be indeed! Mercury Marine told its 1,900 employees, "Take a seven-year wage freeze and a 30 percent cut for new or returning workers, or else!" The "or else" was clear: "We will move the jobs to Stillwater, Oklahoma if you vote no."
They were not negotiating. They were the third grade bullies threatening to take their ball and bat and go home. "My way or the highway."
What Mercury did should be illegal. If the Democrats expect rank-and-file help in the future they had better do more than Jim Doyle, who played the middle. He hopes for a settlement. "I cannot do it alone." Is he blaming both sides? Which side are you on, Governor? Are you telling us the union should have accepted? Is that your idea of bargaining? Would a three-year freeze get your support?
Good for the union. They had the dignity to refuse the bully's humiliating threats.
Afghanistan: Sum up the "good war"--the "Obama war"--with one sentence from Admiral Mullen: "I think it is serious and it is deteriorating."
Fighting Bob Fest will be heard on this good war.
Judicial nominees: Senators Feingold and Kohl have sent three names to the president to replace retiring Judge Barbara Crabb. They are Louis Butler, William Conley and David Jones. What? You don't know much about them? Ask your senators.
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Good for the Union Members. Either way they will be losing their jobs. This way they will continue to earn their wages and have an event horizon that they can plan for.
Exactly how long does anyone expect the outboard motors to be part of people's recreational dollars.
Expensive to buy, expensive to maintain and ex pensive to operate aren't exactly good qualities.
-Rocky | Little Chicago, WI | August 24, 2009
Sorry there Ed but it seems like you were a little too easy on Oily Doyle. The stuff I heard on WPR this morning seems to indicate that Jimbo was disappointed in the workers and kind of blamed THEM.
Face it, there is NO Democratic party worthy of the name. It is no longer a brown shoe, working class party. It is now the party of the comfortably concerned who have no real identification with the workers of this country. Most of the rank and file would rather forget that their parents carried a lunch bucket so they could pay for the kids college education. Today's Democratic party is dominated by over educated college snots who have no idea what working people have had to put up with. It is all an abstraction to them. Doyle tops the list here in Wisconsin and the Obamists do it in Washington.
Yup, we need a legitimate 3rd party that can give some hell to the Dems and the GOP.
In the meantime lets hope the rank and file at Mercury do the only sensible thing left to them. Occupy the plant and take the management hostage. It shouldn't be the right wing taking a page out of Saul Alinsky and getting free TV coverage for sensational behavior at town meetings. Time for the workers, the producers, to do it too.
-Griebnotz Doerkpfester | Egg Harbor, WI | August 24, 2009
Mercury Marine was simply stating facts. Parties involved in bargaining should be fully aware of the consequences of their actions.
Now Mercury Marine will move, Fond du lac will become a ghost town, and the former employees can live off the hard working (non-union) people of Wisconsin.
-Peter | Waukesha, WI | August 25, 2009
How would doing nothing and slowly go out of business help the workers or people of FonduLac?
Really, what else could they do? You balance the books or you are gone...end of story.
-Ted Gilman | Some farm in WI | August 25, 2009
We're dealing with people that don't believe they are shameful. We bail out bankers and guard the sanctity of insurance companies, yet this one guy will go ahead and cripple the city with a ripple affect like that hitting Janesville.
"money doesn't talk, it swears" - B. Dylan
-Steve Stuckert | Montrose, WI | August 25, 2009
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