Harley-Davidson to Implement New Production System at Kansas City Following Vote Approving Contract

Harley-Davidson, Inc. HOG announced today it will move forward with the implementation of a new production system at its Kansas City, Mo. vehicle operations following a vote by the plant's unionized employees ratifying a new seven-year labor agreement. The new labor agreement with employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 176 and the United Steelworkers Local 760 takes effect Aug. 1, 2011 and will be implemented in phases. Implementation of the Harley-Davidson Operating System -- a new, standardized production operating system being introduced across all company production facilities -- will begin at the onset of the agreement, while the compensation and benefits component generally takes effect starting in August 2012, after the current contract was originally set to expire.