After reducing its permanent workforce during the years following the 2008 US recession, Harley-Davidson decided to use a more flexible workforce strategy, hiring temporary workers when customer demands require a ramp up in production.
Harley-Davidson’s Springettsbury Township Vehicle Operations in York, Pennsylvania is currently starting the hiring of 400 casual workers, part of a seasonal surge in production. Temporary worker salaries range from $16.75 to $23.30 per hour. The jobs start at the end of January and run through the end of May. To apply, visit the factory at 1425 Eden Road, York, Pennsylvania to pick up an application or request to be contacted through H-Dflexibleworkforce.com.
Most of the year, Harley’s production schedule is 80 hours per week. Last year, the company’s first surge, Harley hired about 200 temporary workers to help the plant cover 100 weekly production hours. This year, the site will operate in full blown surge mode, producing motorcycles 120 hours per week. Harley-Davidson’s York Vehicle Operations makes more than 60 percent of the company’s motorcycles. Employees perform assembling Touring, Trike and Softail® models, as well as limited production, factory-custom motorcycles. In addition, they perform a variety of manufacturing operations, including fabrication, welding, polishing and painting. Employees also produce a wide range of current and replacement parts for various models. (Fun Fact: Produced bomb casing as recently as the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s)
So they can afford Ramen noodles for a few months.When they lose the hours what do they eat then? Heritage on rye?
“This year the site will operate in full blown surge mode, producing motorcycles 120 hrs. per week.” But the CEO needs to remodel his Villa in Monaco so we’re hiring temps at low wage with no benefits instead of full time workers for full time “surge” mode. Hey, no big deal, those workers can get food stamps, medicaid, and EIC’s to help them make ends meet. Taxpayers don’t mind.
I hope the temp worker program at Harley goes well. It didn’t work worth a damn in our plant.
Better a part-time job at Harley than none. Less taxpayer money paying unemployment to these people.
When stores need seasonal help, do we expect them to be kept all year long? Nobody’s being forced to take the part-time jobs and if nobody applies for them the rewards will no doubt be bumped-up as an enticement. At least the MoCo is committing to keeping production here and doing what they need to to remain competitive. Two-tiered employment sucks, but it’s the long-term employees that signed the contract.
I’ve got to say it is indeed sad when a company that claims to be a capitalist entity helps in the process to reduce the American working man to virtual serfdom.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses”
…..and we’ll give you enough to eat some of the time.
“Will HOG for FOOD”
It’s just a subtle message to buy your new bike before the end of January when the part timers start putting bikes together. Some ad genius thought up this push.i
What is a “casual” worker? What exactly will these temporary workers be doing? I hope it is just pushing part carts around, and sweeping the floor. The last thing I would want is a temporary worker doing assembly on a bike I was buying.
The “casual worker” will be unpacking those boxes from China and India….
Tough crowd. $16.75-$23.30 sounds like a decent wage to me, though I have no idea what the cost of living in York is. My gut says I don’t want the new guy assembling my bike, but, I’ve worked enough factory jobs to see temp workers who have skills, care, and are more productive than the full timer training him to do the job, though this is generally the exception and not the rule. At least the jobs are there, temporary though they may be.
This raises an interesting question. I see enough comments on this forum to believe that most here are supporters of good old fashioned American capitalism. I can’t count the number of times somebody has accused somebody else of being a welfare loving Socialist pig. HD is a publicly traded company with a board of directors that demands profits. Hiring seasonal workers allows them to control their labor costs, one of the few costs management can have any real control over.
So which is it, free market capitalism and tax breaks for the wealthy who own companies and hire workers (the tax breaks are used to hire workers, right? At least that’s what my legislator says when he’s on the campaign trail and what Fox News repeats ad nauseum) or a system that puts the needs of the working man first? Careful now, when you’re honest about how you really feel, your friends might accuse you of being a Commie and you might just vote for “gasp” Hillary in the next election. For the record, I’ve been accused of being a welfare loving Socialist pig, just so you know where I stand, though I’m not sure I’d vote for Hillary.
@TT, your comments have me singing Johnny Cash in my head “. . . then what’s a substitute for bread and beans, I ain’t seen one. Do engines get rewarded for their steam.”
I wrote a reply to this post about 1 1/2 hours ago. It was not posted. This happens to me occasionally on this blog. Cyril, any opinions? I’ll try to replicate it as best as I can….
Chris, Right on…I agree with your perspective. Woody is correct also.
My points are. These are jobs that hire, (albeit temporarily) that I’m sure the 400 people who get them will appreciate. In fact, At $16.75 to $23.30, I think they will be very happy to get these jobs. They are American jobs producing an American product in York Pa.
To the “naysayers”. I suspect the people who constantly whine about H.D., no matter what they do or don’t do, are the same ones complaining/speculating about if Harleys clothing, wiring harnesses etc are made in the USA, while at the same time buy foreign made bikes from Asia and Europe where NONE of the parts or labor favorably impacts America economically .
Chris it’s all a matter of fairness and balance. Of course we want capitalist success, the American dream should be there for anyone willing to work for it. But when is enough enough? Where is the line between greed/ abuse of power and justice/ common decency drawn? Harley’s upper management and BOD are handsomely rewarded. The CEO makes about 10 million dollars a year. Is that fair and decent? Does he produce 200 times more than the line workers or are they also responsible for the success of Harley? If CEO Wandell made a million dollars a year he’d still be among the richest men on the planet isn’t that enough? If Harley saved six or seven million from his pay and used it to compensate the rest of those responsible for Harley’s success then those workers wouldn’t be receiving tax payer assistance, less welfare out and more taxes in because they’d be making enough to pay federal income tax. Less takers more makers. Isn’t that what us Capitalism lovers are supposed to be for?
@TT, The New Colussus says nothing about feeding anyone, only a welcome to those “yearning to be free”
BigWave916:”your poor” isn’t referring to tucking into ribs and cake every day.I think that’s a fairly direct reference to doing it hard from meal to meal with gaps in between.“yearning to be free” from poverty,tyranny and want covers a lot of supermarket bags.Call it a poetic analysis.Of poetry.
BobS The basic economics of wealthy nations is more taxes,more welfare and more govt spending increases the commonwealth.The reality is low taxing countries are way poorer than high taxing ones.Don’t for imagine that we live in a free market economy,it is a socialist system for the corporation and a scrabbling unregulated fiefdom with crumbs for the average worker and grad.It is a robber baron bubble economy with the distribution of wealth in the balance towards Midas.Its well past time to unionize and socialize.Most civilized nations think the US labour standards regarding pay,leave and benefits as nothing but a savage joke for such a wealthy country.
H-D has forgot the wisdom of Henry Ford.You have to pay your workers high enough,for long enough so they can actually be consumers of the product they produce.mass production=mass consumption.
I’m sure, that in THIS economy any work is appriciated, but, it’s still part time work
So much for the All American work ethic of H-D.
Part time here & building over in India.
If I was buying, after reading this, I would think twice !!!!
A very sad state of affairs indeed
Well, they COULD just stick with the smaller permanent crew, create higher prices with the reduced output and give up market share for the heck of it. Unlike some of their competitors, H-D doesn’t have a PWC/snowmobile/ATV?etc product line(s) to help even the seasonal aspect, but they DO have folks who mock every tiny thing they attempt to do to increase demand, like foriegn markets & smaller Ccc bikes. BTW, many Americans think much of the “civilized world” is a joke trying to go broke even faster than an Obama wet dream. Sadly, none of us Colonists seem to be able to produc/elect people who can learn from the failures across the pond 😉
Woody’s,by failed systems imported from across the pond I guess you could include capitalism.First known as the “German System”.I guess it came from Germany. The sharpest and hardest millionaire I have ever known is shocked and amazed at how desperate,badly treated and poor US workers are.He comes from one of those civilized.countries.
Woody that other company doesn’t make atv’s or snowmobiles at it’s motorcycle factory (lines) either. But they are hiring, full time, with benefits, and get this PROFIT SHARING. Their CEO doesn’t cut worker pay in order to increase his own bonus. When that company performs well all those responsible for making a successful product benefit. When the company does not perform well they all get a lower bonus. Although they haven’t performed poorly in quite some time. So if you are in favor of poorly paid temps that need taxpayer assistance go to York for a job. If you like getting ahead for hard work and self reliance without government assistance, come to Spirit Lake.
I could write a book about this,It really doesn’t work. MoCo will use these people then throw them to the curb. My company i worked for for 40 years does it,I always felt bad when it was time to let them go. The rich keep getting richer.
Jesus, Eugene V. Debs is alive and well at Cyril Huze. I feel like breaking into a Woody Guthrie sing-a-long. Occupy CyrilHuzeBlog NOW!
Too late Schmink, the Indians are coming – the Indians are coming! And the Indians have occupied the H-D factory (In India,that is).
Schmink,TT, You guys crack me up! peace
Yeah TT, I’m supposed to seriously consider anything from a guy who worte, “Fritz,nothing wrong with riding cruiser bicycle with Honda leaf blower motor power.” ? Every village has one, you’re Cyril’s.
@ Bob, I’m interested in neither thank you, but I just don’t think the MoCo should be praised OR vilified for attempting this, (and I sure don’t need comparisons with Socialist Europe on how to run a factory) or even compared to Victory’s plan. Each company is different and as a private company with a valid Union agreement, I respect the right of H-D to do this. This system at York is also the result of the Union bargaining to sandbag the older employees with the bodies of the new ones yet many folks only throw stones at the management side.
Jobs at least in usa ,,
What a bunch of hypocrites. . Among all those of you who own a business, how many would not used part time workers if it’s your business interest?
terence tory said (among other disparaging remarks) that…”‘I’ve got to say it is indeed sad when a company that claims to be a capitalist entity helps in the process to reduce the American working man to virtual serfdom. ”
This bothered me so I looked up average salaries for Great Briton vs. the United States. As suspected tory does not know the facts of this matter. The facts are.
1) The average salary in Great Briton is $33,376 annually (converted at todays rate @1.34). Great Britons unemployment is 7.7%.
2) The average salary in the United States is $39,336. The United States has an unemployment rate of 7.2%.
These facts render his remarks above incorrect as are many of his postings.
richard, I’ll take you salary figures on trust, are they the average or the mean? The US figure is a bit misleading if you don’t take into account Britain’s lifelong free healthcare system,lifelong welfare and retirement payments and numerous free govt services.US unions are viewed with derision aroud the world in their toothless impotence.
Eh richard…that’s not all the facts. For one why the comparison with just Great Britain? Convienently for your argument out of the top 20 industrial economies by pay GB is one of only six who compensate manufacturing workers less than in the US which ranks 14th. So that’s 13 that pay more. In fact in the US the average manufacturing worker gets only 60% of the compensation of a worker in #1 Norway. Manufacturing jobs in Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Austria, Netherlands, Austrailia, France, Ireland, and Canada all have higher compensation for manufacturing sectors than the US. But even that is just a small snapshot. To get the bigger picture in perspective we should also look at corporate profits in which case the US is far and away #1 dwarfing all others. Kinda makes you say huh. If we’re creating the most wealth by far shouldn’t the workers that make the products be the highest compensated by far too? Which brings us to the next thing we’re #1 by far at: income inequality. I don’t buy into all of TT’s hyperbole but every revolution is preceded by the rich and powerful squeezing the masses too far. Every King that lived a little too extravagently while his peasants starved eventually lost his head. How far down thaat road are we going to go?
Lastly, average salaries in interesting but what is the mean? By averaging you include the top 1% earners in America which will skew the result. The mean will give you a better idea at what a middle class worker is getting.
In typical Americans who have poor education, never traveled or lived abroad, all your analysis in comparing other countries to the US is flawed. Have you thought not only about wages, but also about taxation of corporations, taxation of individuals, tax on net worth, sales tax, tax deductions, healthcare services, unemployment benefits, retirement benefits, minimum wage, etc. So, continue to talk and argue. You don’t know what you talk about. You make me laugh.
For sure I know that the US has the lowest rate of taxation for corporations and for individuals versus all european countries. Of course, republicans will tell you the opposite. GOP always lying about this because Americans have no clue of what’s going on abroad. Just ask Cyril who was born in France and worked there.
Each to their own. I don’t see why we tax corporations at all, it’s counter-productive and preditory. We SHOULD be drop-kicking the current income tax system out the door and going to a flat tax so all those 1%ers would have noplace to hide and the 99% would stop producing zero and demanding more in exchange. No more corporate welfare and no more corporate taxes. Businesses would come flying back to the USA.
Bob S – couldn’t agree more on the revolution/excesses thing. To quote Claire Wolfe, “America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system but too early to shoot the bastards.”
TERENCE TORY…, The salaries are average for BOTH countries. I was addressing your remark about “virtual serfdom”. I feel that it’s an offensive/incorrect characterization. The figures I quoted reflect that and demonstrate the incorrectness of that characterization. I believe the comparison holds up despite “other” benefits/programs received in Great Briton as we have our share of aid given in this country.
Roughly $600 to $900 a week on 40 hours. Not bad for temp work. What if this is a second job and they are not on welfare?
Still not sure why people whine and cry over how much someone else earns. They are not affected by the earnings deficit between a line worker and a CEO, unless they are a stockholder.
If the line worked spent $100K+ on his education, studied the material, made the right friends and above all had the character and aptitude to land and keep a $9 Million job, well then he earned it. It’s not like some random person showed up and landed a CEO job on accident or luck.
If you don’t like a company’s practice, don’t buy their product, and the free market will run it’s course.
Businesses worldwide increase and decrease their staff according to need. It’s called freedom.
I thought that was something we all shared a love for.
Bob S….FYI, I too believe and agree that there is a decidedly unfair wage differential between the working man and high management positions. I think it’s a disgrace. The middle class is diminishing at an alarming rate while massive wealth in this country is being accumulated by fewer and fewer people. I was trying to convey that 400 jobs at 20 bucks per hour is not a bad thing for those who are out of work and I’m sure will derive some financial relief from these temporary jobs. By average worker salaries I meant statistical average. I get your point with respect to the Statistical mean. Depending on the numbers, it could/may produce slightly different results. However, the comparison I made is an “apple to apple”comparison for both countries and as so, gives us a fair and accurate analysis. I choose G.B. as a comparison, not out of inconvenience or any intention to skew the results as you “kinda” implied. I picked G.B. because I believe terence t. is a Brit, so I thought that was an appropriate comparison.
A lot of people should read this:
http://www.introducingbooks.com/book/view/marxism
I’m to the right of Ghenghis Khan, by the way. It’s just Karl Marx knew how capital and labor functions. And Wall Street think tanks agree with him, however begrudgingly.
knuckle33, As John Adams realized, in a free market system the potential for individual wealth is unlimited. He reasoned that riches did not exist in one big bowl and if one person had more that meant another had less. The free market is one big expanse of wealth.
“Still not sure why people whine and cry over how much someone else earns” ..Therefore I don’t care if Wandell is as rich as Croesus, but I do care when people don’t have stable employment and good pay rates. “Businesses worldwide increase and decrease their staff according to need. It’s called freedom.” the freedom to use human beings as temporary commodity.
Richard. I stand by the virtual fiefdom comment. The distribution of wealth in the US is so unbelievably skewed in favor of the top few percent over the majority that the ratio is probably more extreme than a kulak’s in the reign of the Russian Czars.
Woody’s,corporate tax should be collected where it is paid to the shareholders and not avoided by hiding it in Ireland or Bermuda. Income tax should be way higher for high income earners. Worldwide banking, trade and stock market transfers should be taxed online by a world enforcement effort. A flat tax/VAT/GST or Mehrwertsteuer should be applied on 90% of tradable goods and services. There is a great deal of hidden wealth in many parts of the world; the hidden wealth of Italy is estimated at around 30% of the commonwealth. That should be confiscated. I’d like to see that kind of cash come flying back from its hiding holes in offshore banking business.
You know, maybe the only reason they need 400 additional part time jobs is because they refuse to let their remaining folks exceed the 30 hour threshold that the current administration has imposed as “full time” employment. Once they hit that the employer has to kick in all the bennies and such. Stupid rules create stupid results. I’m sure the current employees would rather have more hours and maybe even overtime.
KD.Yeah paying people what they are worth,thats got to be the problem.Yeah benefits will ruin is country.The past fifty years of benefits,jeese!
Regardless of politics,short hour jobs are becoming the norm for so many workers that 30 hours a week is now almost the full time of the future and people deserve benefits.So The Motor Company does the temp caper to avoid paying their loyal hands what they are worth,paying any benefits won’t be a problem in India.
The magic T shirt kingdom ain’t so magic anymore.
As an aside,The Motor Company have ruined the Bagger and Sportster lines IMHO,rule me out of bikes that need so many mods just to go and ride right for me.
I’m going to look at a Yamaha Star Bolt-R 950 and have a bike that works just fine straight out of the crate.
KD you can attempt to bring poilitcs into this, but it doesn’t belong. Hours and benefits cutting has been going on for a long time nothing’s changed there. Employers have always been able to reduce payroll by hiriing part time, temp, reduce or even drop benefits altogether. At issue here is not how much a man makes it’s how he goes about getting it. If Wandell wants a bigger bonus then he should get it by selling more bikes for more money, not by cutting it out of his empolyee’s pay. As long as we the masses are willing to turn the other cheeck everytime those in a position of power put the squeeze on us will will get more of the same. Defend Wandell’s actions or excuse them by finding a politician to point the finger at, either way will bring you more of the same. More of the same is a road that only leads to socialist revolution.
BobS.Its strange how people think this situation of a dwindling middle class is just the way it is and it’ll just keep wandeling on,and on,and on.
-The fax machine brought down the state of the USSR almost over night without a struggle,
-The British over a hundred years ago their gun laws got changed by govts,scared to death by the prospect of a workers revolution,from a nation armed to the teeth with guns,to nones.
-The Germans in the DDR in East Germany got bored,and the state just fell on its face in the snow after losing its legs.
In a country with arms like all over the place,how quick could the tables be turned over,overnight? When lone dumb-dumbs with sport rifles or pipe bombs can bring a city to a standstill,I wonder how fast change could happen.
Change can occur with a whimper,not a bang.Rust never sleeps.
If only one of you who had posted a comment had some international business and personal experience, he would know that you don’t compare wages the way you do. You can only compare buying power after taxes versus cost of life. You don’t compare gross income. US wages bring more net income and more buying power than in any country in Europe. Period.
@TT, “corporate tax should be collected where it is paid to the shareholders ” Well, duh! That would be included in the flat tax, now wouldn’t it? Compensation paid out by corporations has nothing to do with taxing corporations, that’s income tax to be paid by those recieving it.
Woody’s ,flat tax rates on income only benefit the rich at the loss of the poor.Flat rate taxes on all services and goods work well and catch out all the cheats and black money.
It appears Romano hit a crucial “nail on the head”. Cost of Living is the one VERY important factor that I or none of the other “experts” (yes, that is a stab at comedy) mentioned. For example, companies are now forced to have different pay scales/ranges for identical qualifications/work, depending on location. Two engineers, employed by the same company, will be paid quite differently. The one working in L.A. will be paid a lot higher than an engineer working in podunke Tenn., as an attempt to provide equal spending power.
@TT, that’s your opinion and I guess we’ll have to disagree. A true flat tax has no exceptions, that includes interest, second homes, yachts, dubious charities, etc. Garanteed the 1% is having more fun for less under the current system. As long as people whine about flat taxes being “regressive” there’s nothing worth discussing in terms of “fairness”.
richard :”Two engineers, employed by the same company, will be paid quite differently.” and that is wrong on so many levels.The geographic discount for corporations should be illegal.Maybe I could agree with it if Washington moved lock,stock and pork barrel to Fargo.