Union Outrage Over H-D Plant In Thailand

Labor unions representing Harley-Davidson workers in the U.S. are strongly criticizing company plans to open an assembly plant in Thailand. The new factory, set to open in late 2018, will build bikes from parts made at U.S. facilities.

“Harley-Davidson has been the crown jewel of American manufacturing. Management’s decision to offshore production is a slap in the face to the American worker and to hundreds of thousands of Harley riders across the country,” said United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard in a statement.

“Offshoring production is the wrong path to prosperity. It puts in jeopardy the success that has propelled Harley over the years,” he added.

The president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers was equally blunt in expressing union outrage.

“Harley-Davidson is going overseas and taking American jobs with it. While other companies think about moving work home, Harley-Davidson is doing the opposite. Harley-Davidson is laying off U.S. workers monthly while continuing to hire temporary workers,” said Robert Martinez Jr. “What part of ‘Made in America’ does Harley-Davidson not understand?”

The UAW represents Harley-Davidson workers at the engine operations plant in Menomonee Falls, WI, while the IAM represents workers at the factory in York, PA.

Harley-Davidson said the reason for the new Thailand factory is to reduce tariff costs. Thailand puts a roughly 60 percent tariff on U.S.-made motorcycles that are sold in the country.

The “Journal Sentinel” newspaper in Milwaukee quotes Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Katie Whitmore as saying, ““There is no intent to reduce Harley-Davidson U.S. manufacturing due to this expansion. We anticipate an increase in the number of additional U.S.-manufactured components that will be shipped to the Thailand facility.”

Meanwhile, Marc D. McAllister, a managing director of international sales at Harley-Davidson based in Singapore, suggested likewise in “The New York Times.” “This is absolutely not about taking jobs out of the United States. This is about growing our business in Asia,” he said.

The factory in Thailand will not be Harley-Davidson’s first international facility. It opened a similar plant in India in 2011 and also has one in Brazil.

“The New York Times” story is posted here; the “Journal Sentinel” story here.