Bye-bye WI, Polaris to be hecho en México...

[Doc Zoom]

Well said Tracks USA! The Unions are killing this country. If you have never delt with them you have no idea. They tryed to unionize my auto parts store promising delivery driver kids 20 bucks an hour to turn brake rotors, what kid wouldn't sign the dotted line wanting to become union? Then the union sends me a certified letter saying my employees want to become a union, and do we want to see who signed? Thanks god I got legal advise as if I would have said yes, bam....your union no matter what. Instead I had the National Labor Relations Board do a vote after we had a chance to educate my employees and we beat it. People have no idea how corrupt the union is.
My brothers part store got unionized in Butte with the promises all the union shops would support him...yeah right, 3 years later he went broke paying all the high wages and all of his employees lost their jobs. Ever see how much the unions donate to the democrats?
Until the unions go aways this country doesn't have a chance.
Thanks for letting me vent!
Doc

 

[mountainhorse]

Is/Was the Oceola plant that is the topic of this discussion a Union plant?

If so, which Union?

 

[joshkoltes]

union

other side. yes union members are lazy very lazy so lazy we need naps throughout the day of not working. drives me crazy and makes me feel pretty much worthless. but any time somthing is to be done, wait look at the project, think about the hazards, ask questions about it, make a plan, is it safe, make it soo safe a baby couldnt get a broken nail..... its frickin rediculous! these stupid safty people have wasted half of the day now for a half hour job how are we supposed to be productive. yes us union members could stand up and try to make some kind of difference but now weve been traind to be lazy and nobodys going to change that. nobody has to do their best they just have to do somthing, or find a way to justify doing nothing.

 

[mountainhorse]

The US-domestic content of any of our vehicles in this country is definitely low compared to what it was 20 or 30 yrs ago.

Weather that is a John Deere tractor, a GMC/Dodge/Ford/Toyota truck, a motorcycle, a snowmobile, Riding lawnmower, Golf cart, UTV, PWC, boat etc... You would be hard pressed to find ANY vehicle company that sells/operates in the USA that does not have some mfg facilities on foreign soil.

I wonder which of the big-4 Snowmobile companies has the highest domestic content ?

If you are Pro-USA (like me) ...and that is what drives your purchase decisions, then shouldn't you purchase the one that has the highest US-domestic content?

Also curious to find out , with more than just speculation, if ANY portion of the content of the snowmobiles offered from Polaris is going to come from this new plant in Mexico.

I do not see any mention of sled components being manufactured in Mexico.... Just UTV/ATV.

Polaris is saying that all snowmobile assembly will remain in Roseau and that any snowmobile related operations will be moved to Roseau.

Does anyone have any solid information that counters this info?
(Please cite your source so that we can all be better informed)

I'm VERY interested in finding out the facts here..

 

[rockdog2112]

Hey there! Is that a Mexican Polaris or an American Polaris you're riding there and how do ya tell the difference? Ouch.

 

[rockdog2112]

Mexolaris. Mexapoo. Sorry.

 

[Big Gun]

Is/Was the Oceola plant that is the topic of this discussion a Union plant?

If so, which Union?

Non-union...

Polaris is saying that all snowmobile assembly will remain in Roseau and that any snowmobile related operations will be moved to Roseau.

Does anyone have any solid information that counters this info?
(Please cite your source so that we can all be better informed)

I'm VERY interested in finding out the facts here..

Found this on Polaris' Facebook page...

"Yesterday, Polaris announced a realignment of our manufacturing operations that included the eventual sale or closure of the Osceola manufacturing operations. Questions have been raised of how this affects the manufacturing of Polaris snowmobiles, including our Liberty engine. Polaris snowmobile assembly will remain ...in our Roseau, MN facility, and assembly of the Liberty engine will move there. This allows us to have all snowmobile manufacturing and assembly in one location, it’s still an American made snowmobile. We have planned investments going into the Roseau plant as it becomes the Polaris Snowmobile Center of Excellence. We recognize that it is difficult news for our Osceola employees and we will make every effort to ease the transition. All employees impacted by these moves will be treated with the fairness and respect they deserve."

 

[mountainhorse]

Looks like the Polaris Snowmobiles will still be made in Good Ole USA Made!!

Moving the sled related parts and engine production from Osceola Wi, to Roseau Mn.

I guess I'll be sticking with the company that has the highest US-domestic content in their sleds.

 

[05900]

Hey there! Is that a Mexican Polaris or an American Polaris you're riding there and how do ya tell the difference? Ouch.

By wether there is a burger or a burrito in the muffpot.....looks like burgers in the future

 

[thefullmonte]

I believe all of Polaris is non-union.
If you read through the announcement you will pick up on the fact that they will be doing more outsourcing too. This could mean anything from down the street to across the pond.
It was my understanding that the Oceola plant did quite a bit of the small assembly. Hoods, clutches and maybe suspensions and stuff like that. I was lead to believe that the famous headlight seal on the IQ chassis was their doing.
I still can't believe that some red lights didn't start going off over 30yrs ago. Manufactures discovered that they could get the materials. Send them overseas. Then have them assembled and shipped back. And still turn a bigger profit than if they did it right here in the USA. That doesn't make sense to me even today. Didn't anyone see a problem developing with this?
Even now the government gives tax breaks to the small business owner. Now once your small business grows into a big business that same government turns around and punishes you for it. Taxes, taxes, health insurance, retirement plans, unemployment, social security. It's amazing any businesses can make it. Unforutunately, fewer are.
Even my own sister is in danger of loosing here job to a foreign market. The company she works for is moving the majority of of their resources to Jamaica. Yes, Jamaica! Here is a little perspective for you. They can get one person to likely do the work of 2-3 of us and they only pay them somewhere around $1.50 an hour. Plus they don't have to pay all the other things I just listed. Run those numbers and you can see why these types of moves are becoming more popular and make financial sense to the companies involved.
The crappy part is we are so far gone what can be done? Granted the govenrment could give some tax breaks, but we must be careful. Millions of people still depend on social security for retirement. As well, the resources that those taxes provide. It is almost impossible to afford health insurance without company involvement these days. Still not sure how Obama-care is going to effect this.
At least in MN unemployment should be looked at. It is far to easy to not have a job here. When a person can make more on unemployment than if they went and found another job, we need to look at that. I know a person that has been laid off so he is taking a summer vacation traveling????????? I know people who haven't worked for almost 2 years because they still make more on unemployment! Sorry, that is getting off topic, but you can see the financial burden it causes when the govenment encourages one to be lazy.