Mercury Marine blinked in its brinkmanship and now -- at least for the near term -- will be staying in Fond Du Lac:
The labor union at Mercury Marine Inc. approved contract concessions aimed at keeping hundreds of jobs at the outboard-engine factory here, instead of sending the work to Oklahoma.
The concessions were approved in a two-day vote Thursday and Friday, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Friday evening.
Among other things, the union accepted a wage freeze and 30% less pay for new hires and workers called back from layoff.
Meanwhile, Mercury Marine will be hoovering work out of Oklahoma and shifting it to Fond Du Lac:
As a result of the vote, Mercury now says it will keep its manufacturing in Fond du Lac and will bring additional work to the plant from its non-union plant in Stillwater, Okla.
Over time, the additional work could result in hundreds of more jobs in Fond du Lac at the expense of jobs lost in Stillwater.
The Brawler feels for the people of Oklahoma, but he found it a bit ironic to hear an Oklahoma politician bemoan how MM was pitting the two communities together. He went on to say that MM owes Oklahoma -- which has bent over backwards in a most business friendly manner, rewriting laws et al for the company -- an apology.
Got to be kidding.
But you do get a thank you!
Just in: More from Cory Williams, the Oklahoma politician who was happy to take jobs out of Wisconsin and is just getting around to realizing that he got played:
"The company's actions have pitted one community and one workforce against the other under false pretenses," said Oklahoma state Rep. Cory Williams, a Democrat.
"Mercury Marine clearly has no intent of relocating in Stillwater; its only real intent is to squeeze the union at its Wisconsin plant. I am especially upset with how the company's Stillwater employees are being treated in this process. They have worked hard for a company that is now refusing to respect that service. We want good corporate citizens in Oklahoma, not shakedown artists. Mercury Marine is dangerously close to becoming the latter."
Says one of the unfortunate Stillwater employees:
Stillwater plant employee Todd Pierce said he was crushed by the news.
"Disappointed. Hurt," said Pierce, a 16-year Mercury employee. "It's been a major part of my life. I've got no voice. This was decided by someone else. . . . (Mercury) tore up my family and my life."
The Brawler has sympathy for Pierce, but doesn't quite understand why he thought he should have a "voice." Isn't one of the benefits of being nonunion that you don't have a voice?
Meanwhile, the president of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, who no doubt hails the competitive advantage of Oklahoma's status as a dirt-poor right to work state manages to slip in a shot at the durn union:
Larry Brown, president of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, spoke with a voice that broke with emotion to about 20 workers.
"I don't think it will be a good decision in the long term for Mercury Marine," Brown said. "It elevated the union to a pedestal they won't be able to knock them off of. The union will be claiming victory and that they came in on a white horse to save jobs. . . . It's a good win for them. I am just not happy with how it came about."
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