Union members accept labor contract in Kansas City

Union members at the Harley-Davidson Inc. plant in Kansas City have accepted a labor contract that keeps the work at their factory but will result in the loss of many jobs.

By Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel; Source: Journal Sentinel Inc. March 14, 2011

Union members at the Harley-Davidson Inc. plant in Kansas City, Mo., voted Monday to accept a labor contract that keeps the work at their factory but will result in the loss of about 145 jobs.

The contract includes pay raises and a signing bonus but also has higher health care expenses for employees, according to union officials who declined to give details. It calls for the use of "flexible," or seasonal, employees who would not be entitled to medical or retirement benefits, union officials said, similar to what Harley-Davidson has implemented in Milwaukee and York, Pa.

Their new agreement will be implemented in phases, with the compensation and benefits component taking effect mostly in August 2012, according to the company.

Read the full-length article here.

– Edited by Amanda McLeman, Plant Engineering, www.plantengineering.com