Posted on Tuesday, 25th August 2009 by Roland_Melnick
Surfing the net with my morning java, I checked in at the blog.  Our website software here at BadgerBlogger shows us other websites that are currently linking to us. I noted one such link from BlogginBlue, a liberal site run by Zach Wisniewski. Citing BadgerBlogger’s post on the Mercury Marine story,
Zach writes:
“Union workers at the Mercury Marine plant in Fond Du Lac rejected contract concessions that would have included a 30% wage cut for new hires and employees called back from layoffs, in addition to the 7-year wage freeze they had already accepted. Predictably, some conservative bloggers
are blaming Gov. Doyle, as if Gov. Doyle had any control over how the union voted.”
I read that and thought, “hmm, did I say that?” I went back to our post…we clearly aren’t claiming Doyle has the power to control the union’s vote. Actually, I challenge Doyle’s own claim that he is fighting for these jobs. Here is my response to Zach:
Doyle himself claimed to be “fighting†for these jobs. All I did was ask what exactly was he doing to fight for these jobs. Doyle doesn’t have “control†over how the union would vote, true enough, but I never claimed he did. That’s you putting words in my keyboard.
Bottom line is this…we are in a down economy. These tough times make businesses like Mercury Marine vulnerable. Other states see the value in these jobs. Oklahoma presents the example of what is being done to fight for these jobs.
MM’s union has now voted not to accept MM’s “last best offer.†Unless something changes, perhaps at today’s meeting, these jobs are headed South. If that happens, part of the blame falls squarely on Doyle’s slumped shoulders.
After taking the time to leave this sincere comment, I noted another recent post by Zach , who cites this story and suggests Mercury Marine is a villain in this story. He writes, “Ultimately, it certainly seems as if Mercury Marine intended to move its headquarters and production facility to Stillwater, Oklahoma all along.”
I try to expand the perspective on this story by writing this comment to his post:
Conspiracy theories from IAMAW Midwest territory vice president Philip Gruber aside, what evidence is there that “Mercury Marine intended to move its headquarters and production facility to Stillwater, Oklahoma all along?â€
Instead, why not ask: what has changed in the landscape since the last round of contract negotiations? Isn’t it reasonable to believe that Combined Reporting
(thank you Jim Doyle)
and Federal Cap & Tax Legislation
(thank you Congressional Democrats) have altered this company’s financial outlook?Oklahoma is both free from combined reporting
and free from forced unionization. Ability to compete…ability to make a buck is what it’s all about. You can’t handcuff the hands and shackle the feet of business and expect them to succeed.
It’s enough work finding time to keep up on the mountain of blog-worthy material while maintaining life’s other pursuits and responsibilities. Having to re-explain your position due to misrepresentation based on dishonesty and/or a lack of reading comprehension skill just mires the debate.
Posted in Diamond Jim Doyle, Home, Loony Lefties | Comments (3) |
3 Responses to “Did I Say That?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Left wing perception is far different from reality.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Denial, look over here, smoke and mirrors, blame Bush and Scot Walker, vote to tax everyone else except me. These are Doyle, Hilary, Omama, and Barrett policies for building more unproductive government at the cost of peoples jobs.
Mercury Marine has had a permanent partner since its existence, the government. The government has taxed the hell out of them, taking the profits. Doyle’s climate of tax increases for social programs, is one of the main causes of Mercury Marine demise, along with other well known companies exiting WI, at the cost of jobs for the people he set out to help.
Complete denial, please take a walk through some of the existing businesses left, there is very little production/product left in the state to tax, twist arms for revenue, it has been moving to Mexico, Southern states, and China for the last twenty years.
Take a walk the Eaton, Rockwell, Delphi(opps gone), GM (opps gone), Chrysler, …
Administration of outsourced work is all that is left, can be easily moved. Union workers would be advised to ask for some of the profits back that the government took, put that back in the formula and the company and unions jobs may survive. People may still be able to have money for food and shelter, health care and purchase cars.
August 28th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I told you guys how the unions work. The workers were lied to and were pressured into it.
Same old same old. Got a buddy who was shot out of a government military union for bucking them, he not only got fired he was denied over $17,000 in severance after 27 years.