Strike shuts down Harley-Davidson plant
Production of two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the Touring and Softail, has stopped in Harley-Davidson’s York, Pa., plant because of a labor dispute.
Roughly 2,800 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 175, voted to strike by a 98 percent margin after rejecting H-D’s final contract offer Wednesday.
The two sides are at odds over a two-tier wage system H-D wants to install that would pay new workers $18.25 per hour in the first year of their contract, compared to the $20.78 current first-year assembly workers are receiving. H-D also wants to require employees to contribute toward health insurance premiums and concessions.
H-D shut down the York plant Thursday in anticipation of the strike, and workers began picketing outside the company’s facility at 12:01 a.m. today.
For more information on this developing story, read the Feb. 12 issue of Powersports Business.
