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| Message Subject: mercury union vote | |||
eye lunker |
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| Shep i am totall agreement with you on this one brother......the whole just makes a no sense! | |||
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| Shep |
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Member Posts: 3899 | And now the union "officials" from Milwaukee stop the vote, and haul away the ballot box! If I was a Merc union employee, there is no way I let that box out of that building! And only 260 votes cast in the two days of voting? Same person count those as the first vote? Wide margin? Me thinks not! This is absurd. And now Merc comes out and says they will meet with the union again? Would you let the same union negotiators go to that meeting alone? | ||
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| stacker |
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Member Posts: 2445 Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | Obviously Mercury is giving them every chance to stay. Lets see how this washes out. | ||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | Its over! some of us including me holding out hope that our beloved local manufacuturer and local hands the build those big black growly wicked power plants on the back of our big sparkly riggs are lost! Its like having to watch your lifelong Mans best freind duke get put down. Its all over and the deal with the southern state is a more attractive and more responsible option in this kind of market. If there wasnt already a plant down there i would say no the move is risking too much and the experianced shop members will be missed too much! i would say with the abuility to offer a job down south to the key machinests that keep the wheels turning and the fact that there are certain union members hell bent on cheating and fals represention also with enough venom that you couldnt trust them anymore in you plant or warehouse anymore... Merc cant affort to let these guys lean on a broom in the parking lot based on the history of how things were handled.... Everyone should be laid off and call backs should be based on whatever merc marine feals is responsible. To much at stake when you build a couple thousand outboards with bad powerheads. sad but true Merc should just make a statement and be done with it. merc should then consider the world headquarters move and pass on any offer that includs subsodization via sale tax increase! This will only further charge resentment in the comunity. Look how pizzed people are still over the brewers stadium tax. though i support that situation other than outside countys and housholds having to contribute with out shared access to the other milw county discounts at the zoo and golfcourses and stuff . A county sales tax to keep Merc in fondy is insaine and Merc needs to have no part in it! if the state cant step up and match the deal down south then screw it! sad to say but this has been handled in a bad fashon from the union vote to the fact that the governor let it go this far.. From the county taking advantage of the news and getting togather to try and help but most likely messed things up even more! just a shame.. who's next wisconsin,, Harly? Kohler? Manitawoc Crane? Oshkosh Truck( those of you that are so secure) all it takes is a head hunter from a southern state who is using federal issistance funds to buy industry into there state to call and throw a good offer out to stockholders! All it takes is your tax dollars getting used against you for the re-distribution of wealth and jobs ... oh well... nobody gives a crap! and on the news Wisconsin Cares day care van drivers are making 80+ grand a year and providers are skimming huge money off the top and buying themselves 7000 square foot mansions worth 3 million dollars in milw... posing for pictures with elected officials and a DA's office with no time or resources to investigate du to so many other cases of fraud , theft and criminal activity... just sick! | ||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | Shep i didnt watch the news last night! Are you saying the Union headquarters sent in Thug's from Milwaukee to walk in and put an end to this? Omg! just like the old days! Let me guess a few guys at the top got a suitcase full of money from somone claiming to represent the interest of the state of OK? lol but not funny! someone needs to make a movie! hey maybe they could film it in fondy! i think the state offers money and free stuff if they film here? I need to get over this! smokes went up 75 cents today! I didnt buy a pack and im going to SNAP! | ||
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| thumper |
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Member Posts: 744 | Bradley- You have already snapped..hate to break that to ya. The meeting today will be a b*tch session from the union falling on deaf Merc ears, and it will accomplish nothing. Merc has said that negotiations remain closed. | ||
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| Sunshine |
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Member Posts: 2393 Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | A day after a union leader said Mercury Marine was no longer interested in talking about a package of wage and benefit concessions, the company says it will meet with union leaders. In a statement, Mercury Marine said the meeting with International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1947, is to "bring clarity to the communications" regarding the unchanged best and final offer. | ||
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| Shep |
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Member Posts: 3899 | Maybe it's a "What part of, "we're leaving" don't you understand?" clarification. Or maybe, "We weren't bluffing". Or, "Your union misled you, and now you, and all of Fond du Lac, will have to pay the consequences." Or........ | ||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | Shep - 9/1/2009 11:43 AM Maybe it's a "What part of, "we're leaving" don't you understand?" clarification. Or maybe, "We weren't bluffing". Or, "Your union misled you, and now you, and all of Fond du Lac, will have to pay the consequences." Or........ outstanding speculation shep! OR Maybe with this new Stimulus pacage our President and state Representitives too action!, Maybe the state and federal goverment in reaction to our nation and states current financial situation RECENDED allmost all of the laws and regualation for Mercury Marine if they only go back to building ALL of there outboards and parts in this great U.S. of A! Maybe there going to fire up the old smaller Hp lines and Machines and start buiding Motors again! Or maybe they are meeting with the Union to tell them a restraining order will be filed and No Card holding member will ever be permitted within 300 feet of the property for fear of the place getting burnt to the ground. Edited by bradley894 9/1/2009 12:07 PM | ||
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| Where's Doyle? |
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| Meanwhile our Gov is eating spicy curry in India. Seriously? India? WTF is more important than upwards of 5000 jobs going bye-bye? | |||
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| Sunshine |
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Member Posts: 2393 Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Fond du Lac’s loss of Mercury Marine a huge boost to Oklahoma townUnion here has no plans for more talks; Stillwater runs nonunion plantOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Officials in Stillwater, Okla., said Monday they’re happy to hear boat engine maker Mercury Marine could be moving hundreds of jobs to their city, even if they sympathize with a Wisconsin city that may be losing those jobs. Mercury Marine said Sunday it intends to move the jobs to Stillwater after a union rejected a contract proposal that would have kept the jobs at the company’s Fond du Lac plant. The company wanted to consolidate operations in one of the two towns. Josh McKim, the executive director of economic development for the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, said it’s been difficult for local officials as they waited for the company’s decision, knowing that Stillwater could have lost about 385 jobs if the company had decided in favor of Fond du Lac. ‘‘We were on pins and needles all last week, waiting on not just the company but the union in Fond du Lac to see what their actions would be,’’ McKim said. Stillwater has a nonunion plant. McKim said Stillwater officials have been working with the company – one of the town’s largest private-sector employers – for about a year and that while details remain that must be worked out, ‘‘there is definitely a big sense of relief.’’ He said he sympathizes with Fond du Lac officials, but that he believes Stillwater is the best location for the company long-term. ‘‘Of course, Fond du Lac thinks the same thing,’’ he said. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1947 in Fond du Lac rejected the contract proposal in an Aug. 23 vote. Mercury Marine said the proposal was its ‘‘best and final’’ offer. It said the deal did not involve pay cuts, but the union said workers were asked to give up 2 percent raises in each of the last two years of their current contract. The concessions also called for lower wages for new hires and workers called back from layoffs and changes in work rules and pension benefits. The union, which represents about 850 workers at Mercury Marine, scrapped plans Sunday for a lastminute, second vote on a new contract after the company said it wouldn’t honor ballots cast after midnight Saturday. The company issued a statement at early Sunday saying it will continue to operate the Fond du Lac plant under the terms of the existing contract, which expires in 2012. But it also said it would begin planning to move jobs from Fond du Lac to Stillwater. ‘‘This has been a very difficult and stressful time for all involved but, as we said at the beginning of this process, it is our responsibility to make the best business decisions for the company to have a sustainable future,’’ Mercury Marine President Mark Schwabero said in the statement. Union leaders said they have no new ideas for reviving talks to keep 850 manufacturing jobs in Fond du Lac. Dan Longsine, the union’s chief negotiator, said the company is no longer interested in talking. Russell Krings of the union’s district office said the company told the union the deadline for talking has passed. Steve Fleming, a Mercury Marine spokesman in Fond du Lac, said the final decision on the future of the manufacturing jobs has been made. ‘‘From our perspective, it is time for everybody to move on,’’ Fleming said. ‘‘We are equally as comfortable going to Oklahoma as we are staying in Fond du Lac.’’ Mercury Marine, founded in 1939 as Kiekhaefer Corp. of Cedarburg, also has manufacturing operations in Tulsa, South Carolina, Florida, Mexico, Japan, United Kingdom, Belgium and China. It is a subsidiary of Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Corp. U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, ROkla., whose district includes Stillwater, praised the efforts of local and state officials. ‘‘Their hard work has resulted in a new, valuable asset for the city of Stillwater and the entire state of Oklahoma,’’ he said. U.S. Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., whose district includes Fond du Lac, said he was ‘‘deeply dismayed’’ no agreement was reached between the company and union. ‘‘We must now urgently continue to focus on what can be done to keep Mercury’s corporate headquarters in Fond du Lac,’’ he said in a statement. Mercury Marine has said its 1,000 corporate jobs were also at risk of leaving town, but no decision has been made. | ||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | Tom Petri .... NICE! Another Republican with plenty of Ten year and no fight left in him at all! Got mailer from him(bulk Mail) a wile back and you should have seen the wording... Another Sell out! and Doyle? Where is Doyle you ask? He is hiding! he is under investigation for abuse using wisconsins travel budget! Hideing in India!!!!!!! what is he going to expand India Gaming in wisconsin? hideing in India what a kick in the teeth! when are folks gonna wake up and stop voting for these guys? when is the local news and fish wraps gonna pull there heads out of there arses and do some investigative reporting, you wanna blamb somone? call your news stations and papers and tell them to stop covering for these shmucks and start talking about whats going on and how we are going to clean it up! , Now there fighting over who gets to run agains Doyle and he anounces he is not running for another term! im sure he will be MIA for the next year and a half. what a sad day! oh and where is Doyle and the rest when we are looking at 5,000 jobs? if you havent noticed its more like 50,000 in wisconsin alone in the last month! 300 here 500 there... cuts in every school district , county workers, citys and so on! yet if i see another state funded comercial on TV telling me with my tax money that i need to buckle up! or not drive drunk or seek help for Gambling adiction or Drive safe in construction zones, or another add in support of Ethinal by that lobby im well ya i already SNAPPED! DARN i Need a Cigarette! but im not giving anothere dime to the state and feds for the smokes i buy!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAARrrrrrrrgg! What is that add on the RADIO as we speak? Wisconsin Lottery? buy a ticket win millions? how much did that add cost! No wonder the Radio and tv and newspapers look the other way! the state is paying there bills!!!! just dandy! oh ya how many phones are in your house hold? i have 4 counting 3 cells and a land line.. The New state law went into affect today... 75 cents a line per month!!!!!! thats another 36 bucks a year out of my pocket!!!!! how many phone lines and fax lines does Merc have? Edited by bradley894 9/1/2009 4:06 PM | ||
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| Brad B |
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Member Posts: 617 Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | Nevermind. Almost slipped up and posted a reasonable, well thought-out point of view on this. I know this isn't the place for that... Sorry. Edited by Brad B 9/1/2009 5:56 PM | ||
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| Rich S |
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Member Posts: 2300 Location: Berlin | Come on Brad, people like me enjoy reading your perspective. | ||
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| Sunshine |
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Member Posts: 2393 Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | The never ending story. Another vote AGAIN
Mercury Marine union voting again on concessionsWorkers’ rep: Company says it will accept outcome of ‘real’ voteWAUSAU (AP) – A day after it looked clear that 850 jobs making boat engines in eastern Wisconsin were moving to Oklahoma, Mercury Marine and its union said Tuesday workers would again vote on a package of wage and benefit concessions. The company has repeatedly said it needs the concessions to keep the jobs in Fond du Lac, its corporate headquarters. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the vote will take place Thursday and Friday. Mike King, a union spokesman, said company executives and union leaders met Tuesday ‘‘through the efforts of state and local officials’’ and reached what he called a supplement with some clarifications regarding the concessions. ‘‘The company will accept the outcome of the vote. It is a real vote,’’ King said. ‘‘I am not going to try and judge how it is going to turn out.’’ Mercury Marine President Mark Schwabero said the company extended the deadline for the concession package to Thursday. ‘‘Hundreds of employees expressed a desire to voice their true feelings, and that’s something we can’t ignore,’’ he said in a statement issued in Fond du Lac. The union has said its membership overwhelmingly rejected the deal in an Aug. 23 vote. Mercury Marine characterized the proposal as its ‘‘best and final’’ offer. Mercury Marine, the world’s largest manufacturer of boat and recreational marine engines, said the concessions did not involve pay cuts, but the union said workers were asked to give up 2 percent raises in each of the last two years of their current contract that expires in 2012. The concessions also called for lower wages for new hires and workers called back from layoffs and changes in work rules and pension benefits. The average hourly wage at the Fond du Lac plant now is about $20, the union said. The union scrapped plans Sunday for a last-minute, second vote on a new contract after the company said it wouldn’t honor ballots cast after midnight Saturday – the deadline for pulling the offer off the table. On Monday, company spokesman Steve Fleming said Monday the final decision on the jobs had been made and it was ‘‘time for everybody to move on.’’ The company had said it would move the jobs to a nonunion plant in Stillwater, Okla., with about 400 workers. King declined comment Tuesday on details of the clarifications in the supplement or what broke led to another vote the company would accept. Schwabero said Tuesday’s developments followed several days of encouragement from state and local officials to find a ‘‘process for a revote on the company’s best and final contract proposal.’’ The deal has not changed from Aug. 23, he said. After the first vote, Gov. Jim Doyle said the state offered an ‘‘aggressive package’’ to keep Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac. Doyle said the incentives were based on the company meeting certain milestones, including creating and retaining nearly 2,700 jobs and staying in Fond du Lac for 12 years. Some union leaders said those details, had they been made public earlier, could have affected the vote, in providing some information about job security at the plant. The union had feared the jobs would move no matter what happened. Mercury Marine, founded in 1939 as Kiekhaefer Corp. of Cedarburg, also has manufacturing operations in Tulsa, South Carolina, Florida, Mexico, Japan, United Kingdom, Belgium and China. It is a subsidiary of Lake Forest, Ill.-based Brunswick Corp.
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| Sunshine |
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Member Posts: 2393 Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | NEW: Stillwater reacts to Mercury flip flop By Monique HeadleyStillwater NewsPress While workers and the community pound the mat to signal enough, Mercury Marine takes a step back on its commitment to move forward. | ||
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| Guest |
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Gawd, this whole thing reminds me of the Brenda Favre saga!  | |||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | LOL!! Britney Favre? thats great! thanks guest for making me giggle in this up and down world... hey got a letter in the mail from are garbage pickup company.... it was explaining about the new state budget added fee's and the fees went up a total of 475% in two increments on at the end of july and one in october... this is why our bill is going up.. thank goodness its just fee's and not more taxes on the citizens and buisnesses of the state... hey why doent diamond Jim answer his phone? is he out of town or something.. MERC please stay in Fondy there are to much water around here and too many potential buyers dealers and contributing venders make something work All you guys! | ||
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| Jim Ordway |
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Member Posts: 538 | Is Stillwater all bent out of shape because they may not take the jobs from Fondy or do they feel that they would have strenghthened their position by getting additional jobs and now they feel vulnerable to the same shifting sands? Take care, Jim O | ||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | <p>this is what i see here! and i dont think merc planned this but here is what is happening now the way i see it.. Merc wanted to merg these two locations into one... High bidder from the state support and employee support to cut costs wins! at this point leaving both comunities and locations hanging the anti has been raised and the bidding war for merc to stay is on!!!!!! In a perfect world at this point Merc may recieve help from both states as the pot getts sweetend and even more support than they immagined .. Leaving the window open to KEEP BOTH Plants OPEN Look great and come up with a sweet deal partaining to Tax breaks less union controle and lower costs than expected in BOTH locations... I DONT THINK THEY PLANNED THIS BUT I THINK THE LIGHT BULB JUST WENT ON! THEY CAN LOOK LIKE HERO'S STAY IN BOTH PLACES AND stop getting bent over by state and local taxes and at the same time lower costs accross the board. AM I WRONG OR DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS HAPPENING? </p><p>What im saying is that by being wishy washy both states and locations are going to become extreemly agressive for fear of loss... desperation! THE offer to Merc to stay at both locations may become so sweet that it would save them Double the operating exenses they were hoping to cut by only keeping one plant! They my be able to cut costs by twice as much KEEPING TWO LOCATIONS!!!!!!!! see where this is going? thogh originaly not the plan by merc somthing to look at!</p><p> i would also like to add though i think our elected officials arent smart enough to do this i would include in the offer for free stuff to Merc the stipulation of bringing back home the smaller outboard lines! Relax on the 4 stroke push and get them building more outboards at home not over seas. all can look like hero's and help this country greatly</p> Edited by bradley894 9/2/2009 10:12 AM | ||
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| Sunshine |
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Member Posts: 2393 Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Jim: Mercury's original plan was to consolidate. They plan/planned on moving operations from one of the plants. I believe that if we win they loose. Bradley, you may be on to something. Mercury may look good today for Wisconsin but they are mad as hell in Oklahoma. They want to know why we (FDL) get 3 attempts and they get zero attempts. They though it was a done deal. Two days ago I was hearing complaints that Mercury planned on leaving all along. Today I hear the same people arguing that Mercury planned on staying all along. Go figure, you just gotta laugh. WTMJ reports of younger union members (with 10-15 years left) complaining that they felt lied to by the union. They say they were told that if they voted no, negotiations would continue. It's obvious that we (the outsiders) know little of the final contract language. we only know what is reported by the media and that can be dangerous. It sounds like retirements will be extremely effected and if any of them are laid off their salaries will take a big hit. Still contend that a job is better than no job. At least for now. | ||
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| Guest |
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| The biggest part of the confusuion on the first vote, was that there were two proposals out there. The first had some ambiguous language in it, such as, "Mercury MAY move machining operations to Fond du Lac, Mercury MAY move Mercruiser assembly operations to Fond du Lac, Mercury MAY move........" That was a draft of the "Last, Best, and Final" offer. The final proposal had more specific language in it, such as, "Mercury WILL move machining operations to Fond du Lac, Mercury WILL move Mercruiser assembly operations to Fond du Lac, Mercury WILL move........". It seems as though most of the union rank and file only had the draft, will only a few had the final proposal. Why would that be? Why didn't the union officials ensure that all the members had the final, and correct draft? Hhhmmmmm. I saw both documents on Monday. Somebody else questioned why the union rep from Milwaukee was allowed to come in, stop the vote, and take the ballot box out. Hard to believe that the local guys would allow that. I think the IAM national would sacrifice those jobs in Fond du Lac to try to prove how "united" and unbending the IAM is to other companys that are going to be negotiating in the near future. I saw a 35 yr employee on Fox News Tuesday night. He said he voted no the first time, and would vote no again. One of those that could swim to shore, if Merc leaves. He could care less about the Company, Fond du Lac, or his fellow workers. All he cares about is getting the most for him. | |||
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| Shep |
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Member Posts: 3899 | This from WISN TV website. "Workers were given four pages of clarifications about the contract offer to review before the vote, but no new offer. WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscot said the contract is 100 percent the same as the one previously voted on. One of the clarifications was that workers who were laid off and then brought back will return at their original rate of pay, not a reduced wage as some previously thought." Now I bet those laid off workers would really like the chance to vote! Anybody see the comments from one of the long time members on WTMJ? Another one that has the us againnst them mentality. Some just don't get it. Just an observation, but the FDL Reporter has dona a terrible job of reporting on this, throughout. I get way better information from WTMJ and WISN. Edited by Shep 9/3/2009 11:55 AM | ||
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| Sunshine |
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Member Posts: 2393 Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | I also see that a union rep has resigned. | ||
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