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Steelworkers Approve Agreement with Harley-Davidson; Look Forward to Power Train Expansion in Milwaukee

For Immediate Release                                       November 14, 2006

Milwaukee – United Steelworker (USW) members of Local 2-209 have voted by a 943 to 536 count to approve a memorandum of agreement to their labor agreement with Harley-Davidson that requires the company to invest more than $120 million to expand production of the company’s power train capacity in Milwaukee, creating more than 100 new jobs and providing job security to the 1,600 union members already employed locally, according to local union president Jim Wheiland.

The memorandum of understanding will allow the company to hire new employees at a lower wage rate.

“Now we can look forward to expanding here, rather than worry about a rival plant that would produce the same product with newer, state of the art equipment,” Wheiland said.  “We have the finest, most talented and most dedicated work force in the country.  Based on our record alone, we’ve earned this new investment but again, our membership has gone one step further by alleviating the company’s concerns about future costs.”

All Harley-Davidson Big Twin and XL power trains are now produced in Milwaukee.  If workers had rejected the proposal, the company said that it would expand production outside of Wisconsin.