Mercury and union say another vote set

FOND DU LAC - Mercury Marine and the union leaders say there will be another vote on a labor contract originally offered by the company on August 19.

Mercury and The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers says the vote will take place Thursday and Friday.

Union spokesman Mike King says company executives and union leaders met Tuesday and prepared what he called a supplement with some clarifications regarding the package of concessions.

In a release provided by Mercury Marine Tuesday evening, the company says the vote will be on the “exact same contract proposal previously considered and rejected by voters on Aug. 23.”

“Hundreds of employees expressed a desire to voice their true feelings, and that’s something we can’t ignore,” said Mark Schwabero, president of Mercury Marine. “Obviously this is a difficult situation for all employees in Fond du Lac and Stillwater.”

The union has said that on Aug. 23 it overwhelmingly rejected the deal the company called its “best and final” offer to keep the jobs from moving to a nonunion plant in Stillwater, Okla. A second, last-minute vote took place after the deadline expired at midnight Saturday and the results were never tabulated.

Over the past several days state and local officials have encouraged the IAMAW to meet and discuss a revote on the company’s “best and final” contract proposal.

According to the release from Mercury Marine union members can vote from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. either day at the IAMAW hall in Fond du Lac.

Some union members, however, are not excited about another vote, while others say they are ecstatic.

"I think a lot of people think of it as your first vote is for pride your second one is necessity," said Rick Schmidt, a Mercury Marine employee and union member.

The company nor the union are answering questions from the media.

Just how the company and the union agreed on another vote isn't spelled out in their respective statements, but some say the pressure in town during the last few weeks played a role.

"I think that the community stepped up. I think all the workers stepped up. Company, union, it doesn't really matter what side it is," said Schmidt.

But some say the contract was voted on, and shouldn't be brought up for another vote.

"I was hopin' that it wouldn't come to that, to the revote again," said Steven Wiskow, a Mercury Marine employee and member of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1947, "It's caused a lot of commotion at work and throughout the city and everything else and it just keeps on adding more frustration to it."

Steven Wiskow has worked at Mercury Marine for 33 years. He voted against the last contract, and plans to vote no again.

But others see the vote, as a second chance to keep Mercury marine in Fond du Lac.

"We're pretty confident just from the response we've had from other members that we're going to pass this thing, Mercury's going to stay right here in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin," said Fred Toth, a Mercury Marine employee and union member.