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Cruiser
Posts: 117
Spring Hill, Tennessee | Does anyone know for sure if the Victory Manufacturing Plant in Spirit Lake, IA. is a Union plant?
No particular reason for asking, but I was just curious?
Thanks |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | I do not have that information, either.... but Victory has only been around for 12 years or so.
It is hard to imagine any modern company starting out with union labor.
Perhaps a look at Polaris' annual report would offer a clue. |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | I took my own advice and looked at their AR. From page 9 of Polaris Industries' 2008 annual report:
Employment
Due to the seasonality of the Polaris business and certain changes in production cycles, total employment
levels vary throughout the year. Despite such variations in employment levels, employee turnover has not been high.
During 2008, Polaris employed an average of approximately 3,300 persons. Approximately 1,250 of its employees
are salaried. Polaris considers its relations with its employees to be excellent. Polaris' employees have not been
represented by a union since July 1982.
Edited by trailbarge 2009-12-16 11:25 AM
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Cruiser
Posts: 117
Spring Hill, Tennessee | Thank you Trailbarge!
That is what I suspected, but didn't know for sure.
Thanks for looking that info up for us!
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | I went on the tour through the plant and had the chance to visit with several employees. All seemed to be very happy with their jobs, and with Polaris/Victory and had nothing but good things to say about the company. Happy Americans building American products made by an American company in the middle of the Iowa/Nebraska/Minnesota cornfields.
Ronnie |
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Cruiser
Posts: 273
| so what's going to happen to Spring Hill with the departure of Saturn/GM? How soon before it becomes a ghost town.
Senator Corker sure took care of those guys with his union busting moves. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 117
Spring Hill, Tennessee | Smitty - 2009-12-16 8:20 PM
so what's going to happen to Spring Hill with the departure of Saturn/GM? How soon before it becomes a ghost town.
Senator Corker sure took care of those guys with his union busting moves.
Good Question Smitty?
Right now they are still actively building 4 cyl. engines in Spring Hill, but it is said that after January 1, everything else will be going away.
You are correct! VW made out pretty nicely in Chattanooga with the help of government support.
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| Take notice, and for those who disagree let's just agree to disagree, the power of the auto workers union is dying and for that I say good riddance!
If not for the auto workers union American car companies would still be manufacturing cars in the United States instead of Mexico and Canada. Paying a person $25 to $35 per hour PLUS full benefits for putting a few screws and bolts in is just crazy and what led to the downfall of GM and Chrysler. Granted, it took management agreeing to labor contracts to bring this about, but management did that to avoid the multitude of strikes that plagued automobile manufacturers in the '70s and '80s. How many people here know that when an assembly plant was closed for refurbishing and retooling that ALL the union employees were STILL PAID THEIR FULL PAY for the entire time the plant was closed? A while back the Chrysler plant in Belvidere, IL was closed for a year while it was retooled to switch production from the Neon/PT Cruiser to the Caliber/Compass and the entire work force was paid while not working, does this make any kind of economic sense? It happens because the union demands things like this in their contracts, it is just one of the reasons unions are killing off all major manufacturing in this country and why manufacturers are moving production to other countries where they do not have to deal with unionized labor.
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Tourer
Posts: 400
| I have worked in 3 factories that were union. I sas a salaried employee. One is closed, and two filed for bankruptcy. All the stories you hear, yes they are all true and then some. |
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Tourer
Posts: 411
Dallas, Texas | Travelin Man - 2009-12-17 11:31 AM
Take notice, and for those who disagree let's just agree to disagree, the power of the auto workers union is dying and for that I say good riddance!
If not for the auto workers union American car companies would still be manufacturing cars in the United States instead of Mexico and Canada. Paying a person $25 to $35 per hour PLUS full benefits for putting a few screws and bolts in is just crazy and what led to the downfall of GM and Chrysler. Granted, it took management agreeing to labor contracts to bring this about, but management did that to avoid the multitude of strikes that plagued automobile manufacturers in the '70s and '80s. How many people here know that when an assembly plant was closed for refurbishing and retooling that ALL the union employees were STILL PAID THEIR FULL PAY for the entire time the plant was closed? A while back the Chrysler plant in Belvidere, IL was closed for a year while it was retooled to switch production from the Neon/PT Cruiser to the Caliber/Compass and the entire work force was paid while not working, does this make any kind of economic sense? It happens because the union demands things like this in their contracts, it is just one of the reasons unions are killing off all major manufacturing in this country and why manufacturers are moving production to other countries where they do not have to deal with unionized labor.
Not that I disagree, but remember what brought the Unions into being in the first place, was Corporate greed. It's human nature actually. It's the same with law enforcement...police actions brought Miranda rights, and such. There's a host of goverment controls all centered around humans mistreating other humans. Instead of a balanced scale, we always seem to tilt one way or another. IMHO |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | Travelin Man - 2009-12-17 12:31 PM
Take notice, and for those who disagree let's just agree to disagree, the power of the auto workers union is dying and for that I say good riddance!Unions once had a very important role in the American economy. There are a few industries where they still have relevence. However, I agree that in most cases the unions did their job and they can withdraw from the battlefield for now.
It is also just as important to me that if corporate America starts feeling its oats and begins abuse of its employees again, unions should be available in the arsenal for fairness.
Unions are not all evil, they simply are accustomed to being relevent and do not want to fade away into the night, so they have upped the ante in their negotiations to the point where our jobs are being outsourced and many of our products are no longer competetive.
Yes, most of the unions can go away... for now. Just don't forget that they had a real purpose and are responsible for much of the standard of living that we Americans currently enjoy. (And this is coming from a white collar guy.)
To climb on my soap box, I'd like to point out how bureaucracy takes on a life of its own and will expand beyond its original purpose to cost us all enough to make us forget the original good it did. We are talking about unions today, but it could as easily be applied to any number of government programs... medicare, social security, welfare, etc. All programs with good intent, but inevitably morphed in time to something expensive and with little or (often) negative cost-benefit advantage. Let's all remember that as we watch our Congress take over more and more of the economy. The intent is good, but the bureaucracy will not go quietly into the night and will (not might... WILL) be something we wind up regretting.
Paul Podbielski |
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Visionary
Posts: 1484
LaPorte,Tx. | After working in the manufacturing business for almost 40 years now it is sad to see what has happened to that sector of our economy. Yes, the union folks were in there for their share of the pie, but who can blame them. But, there were a lot of other things that have happened to move our economy away from manufacturing based over the last 50 years, way more influencial then unions. I'm just glad my favorite motorcycle is made here in the states.  |
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Fountain Inn, SC United States | I'm impressed with the range of ideas (and ideology) expressed so eloquently here. While I enjoyed the dialog, I must redirect it to the original post about whether the Victory plant is unionized. And as it has been stated, it isn't. If there is any further discussion regarding the Victory plant, let's hear it. Otherwise I'd like to politely close the discussion.
Thanks! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | Before Jeff freezes this post, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the guys who built the Vision a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year regardless of the union status of the Polaris or Victory plants.
I would also like to remember the generations of "redneck"(union) coal miners, textile workers and factory labor that worked in true hell holes and fought to make it possible for you, me and the Victory workers to have a paid Christmas holiday, safe working environments and child labor laws that protect our kids and grandkids. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 85
| Good post, nice to see everyone remaining civil in what could be a hot topic. I won't add my 2 cents as the thread served it's purpose but I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year from the Great White North. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 29
| I love how the guy is outraged that someone might make $25 an hour for menial labor (in his opinion). The working class were getting screwed and thats why unions came about and for the most part are the ones paying the price for corperate greed now! Of course some yuppie would'nt understand the value of hard labor or no the feeling of being physically drained at the end of a laborious day after busting your ass all day (but thats not worth anything; its just blood, sweat,and tears!). Where is the outrage about the rich assholes (Bernie Maitloff) that just rip thousands of people off and ask if they can keep some of their homes that they had acquired by ripping people over the years! The world is insane. |
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Tourer
Posts: 400
| People who make minimum wage having their tax money used so $30 an hour people can keep their job with no pay cut and no health care increases, that's insane. Ford announcing possible pay increases for union employees when most of the country is suffering is insane. Let's be honest, is it surprising many people don't want to buy a vehicle from a company who's employees make twice what the consumer makes? |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | UntamedBill - 2009-12-17 7:59 PM
The world is insane.
I would hope this thread would get froze rather quick because opinions over unions is diverse and is very political topic. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 39
Brighton, MI | Lets all put into perspective who was getting most of the monies in the unions........ the union officials they are owned by WHO, but we don't talk about that. Yes I was employed by three unions and was forced not to work, or say threaten. Look where I live PRO UNION STATE. They had there time and place and was very well needed most definitely, but with the media and inter net that abuse can no longer be accepted. Lets step into reality.. OUR RESULTS ARE ARE OUR OWN DAMN FAULTS!!!!!!!!! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| I guess I should clarify my post about the auto workers union and put it in perspective with regards to Victory. Harley-Davidson as many knows employees union labor and now has to make drastic cuts, closing down Buell (the true American sportbike manufacturer) and looking for a buyer of the Italian mark MV Agusta, just to keep their corporate heads above water in surviving the motorcycle sales slow down that all manufacturers are suffering. Victory on the other hand, while keeping in mind that Victory only has 1 motorcycle assembly plant plus others that assemble engines, Polaris ATVs, Ranger UATVs, and Snowmobiles, is making it through the slow times WITHOUT cuts and even expanding production. How are they able to do this and still keep their motorcycle prices at least $1000 less than their H-D competition on similar models? It is simply because they are not a union company and the person doing menial labor gets menial labor pay while the skilled laborer gets skilled labor pay, which is exactly how it should be. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1340
Gainesville Fl Home of the Gators | Travelin Man - 2009-12-17 9:36 PM
I guess I should clarify my post about the auto workers union and put it in perspective with regards to Victory. Harley-Davidson as many knows employees union labor and now has to make drastic cuts, closing down Buell (the true American sportbike manufacturer) and looking for a buyer of the Italian mark MV Agusta, just to keep their corporate heads above water in surviving the motorcycle sales slow down that all manufacturers are suffering. Victory on the other hand, while keeping in mind that Victory only has 1 motorcycle assembly plant plus others that assemble engines, Polaris ATVs, Ranger UATVs, and Snowmobiles, is making it through the slow times WITHOUT cuts and even expanding production. How are they able to do this and still keep their motorcycle prices at least $1000 less than their H-D competition on similar models? It is simply because they are not a union company and the person doing menial labor gets menial labor pay while the skilled laborer gets skilled labor pay, which is exactly how it should be.
Actually it has very little to do with labor costs, and a bunch to do with sound business models. A few years back HD was trying to make every aspect from building the bikes to transporting, warehousing, financing, and warrantying their product. In the short term it looked like a great idea, but it also meant that they had created a HUGE bloated system that had to be supported by constant levels of production. All those trucks, shipping docks, warehouses, and shipping employees. Not to mention the cost of a finance company that looses $25,000,000 a quarter.
Now look at Polaris. Sold most of their back inventory, started converting their production to "Mixed Batch" Where they could make several types of vehicles one after another; without stopping the line. Finance is done out of the house along with warranties. Transport is on demand, and outsourced to contractors.
Over the last 50 years HD has been spared from failure through government intervention. Either loans, protective tariffs, or guarantees. Polaris never used any of those things, and has been a growth company all along. These are the reasons for the two different tracks, and not union labor |
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Cruiser
Posts: 79
Memphis,Tn. | Kevin, I had forgotten the 1980's tariffs imposed on everything (non-Harley) larger than a 700cc engine. Those are some good points you brought up.
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Union?
Discussion -> Vision Discussion
