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It's up to the union, they say with no mention of the deranged character of the Brunswick Corp. that would devastate a community with premeditation and in cold blood.

The company has eroded the number of workers and the union at its Fond du Lac site for the past several years. Now, it's time to really kill.

…. Just like NewPage and GM before it, Mercury Marine is putting corporate greed before the good of the Wisconsin community in which it has resided for lifetimes.

Fondy will see a signal moment in its life today but please note that it is corporate greed and betrayal that ought to be on trial and not the union members of (IAM) Local 1947.

It is Mercury Marine that has given the workers an untenable choice. It is the company that wants to move all its operations to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to be in a non-union state, even though the city of Fond du Lac and the state of Wisconsin have been loyal and faithful partners.

It also appears that Mercury Marine was ready to move anyway. They had already laid off hundreds of workers over the last several years. Now, they were just looking for a convenient excuse. So they offer a piece of crap contract, figuring that the union will reject it, and viola, instant excuse.

All that said, without knowing all the facts, I cannot say if the union members did the right thing or not, or if it even mattered what they did.

The sitting management is making an offer the workers will refuse. I understand that with the downturn in the economy that the contracts need to be opened and changes are needed but they must be fair.

The company is not willing to give guaranties that the jobs will be safe or the company will stay in Fond Du Lac. They only want to give assurances.

When will someone stickup [sic] for the workers? That is what the union is doing!

The vote is a strong signal from the union that cannot be overlooked, said Larry Brown, president of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce.

However, said Brown, it cannot be ignored that the union retains the opportunity to vote again until Aug. 29…. The union could be playing political mind games with the company and communities, said Brown.

“They could vote no today to send some sort of message to community and Mercury management," he said, "and turn around tomorrow to vote yes.”

…. “We will keep fighting until it’s decided … We are a non-union facility. We are a right to work state. We will continue to work with Mercury management … to make sure the best option for future growth and economic viability for the company is Stillwater, Oklahoma.”

….If Mercury Marine, a subsidiary of Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Corp., shuts down the Fond du Lac plant, it would mean an annual loss of $353 million in workers earnings and an additional 5,900 in lost jobs due to the impact on suppliers, government and business in the area, according to the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corp.(Emphasis is mine.)

• Buy-out packages of $5,000 to $25,000, based on years of service
• Medical coverage and contributions will be the same as salary plans.
• Pension plan frozen, not eliminated, at current $48 per year of service multiplier.
• Retirement plan becomes defined contribution plan (401K) with Company matching 50 cents for every dollar contributed up to 6 percent on top of benefits already earned.
• Employees retiring in 2009 may elect current retiree medical plan at current contribution rates.
• Employees retiring after Dec. 31, 2009 will be offered an optional retiree medical plan with contributions equal to salary retiree medical plan.

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