WARS WIND-DOWN WILL COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS!

WARS WIND-DOWN WILL COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

 

There are mostly bad things attached to war, deaths, murder, rape, displaced people, and carnage of environment. Each and every military conflict down through the annuals of time has tested human-kinds physical strength, emotional stability, and has brought into question man’s belief in cause, and his willingness to fight to the end, and do whatever might be necessary to achieve whatever ultimate goal is shared by the most people.

War, military conflict, and the instability of personal life that it can bring to a nation’s citizenry are just the norms, a distasteful side effect, but one that accompanies war. Planning for the manufactory of war machines and supplies is a tireless effort with a multitude of intersecting issues that need to be addressed, many on a daily basis.

Employment procurement at breakneck speed is always necessary, whether men or women, the overriding issue is always production, and the ability to reach mandated goals. Believe it or not some companies who are awarded military governmental contracts do not always do a good job. One company that has always delivered, no matter the project has been the Oshkosh Corporation, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Oshkosh Corporation has 23 locations in the United States and 15 foreign that are located throughout much of the world. The company has several divisions that deal in domestic manufacturing of fire and rescue vehicles as well as aerospace, air traffic, ordinance, military vehicles and engines, missiles and weapons, space systems, and naval systems.

OSHKOSH CORPORATION HISTORY

Founded in 1917 as the Wisconsin Duplex Auto Company, the company was created to build a severe-duty truck. After the first prototype was built, the company began to develop rapidly. The first four-wheel-drive truck, known today as Old Betsy is still owned by Oshkosh Corporation.

Although the company is diverse, a goodly amount of their income is derived from the company’s defense division. Motorized vehicles are their biggest ticket item, from tactical vehicles, to Global HET (heavy equipment transporter), to the HARV (heavy Army recovery vehicle), to the Packhorse Trailer System (a 5^th wheel trailer specifically made to haul odd shaped military equipment).

I guess one could say that the Oshkosh Corporation is the face of the city with a population of more than 66,000 people. Besides the Oshkosh Corporation, the community in central Wisconsin is also known for my favorite blue jean maker, OshKosh B’Gosh. However the Oshkosh Corporation employee more than 2,500 people in Oshkosh, making it the largest employer.

The list of defense contractors in the United States that has federal contracts is extensive, well over 500 U.S. companies deal in all sorts of that employ more than 200,000. There also are a multitude of smaller companies that employ 2, 3, or 50 employees, the list of these companies probably number in the thousands.  

So when more than a 3^rd of the city’s employees are laid off, it does tend to send shock waves throughout the entire community. Although the corporation is diverse, when a goodly portion of a communities labor force is let go, and on the streets collecting nothing more than unemployment, there tends to be a multitude of problems from alcohol, to spousal abuse, to boredom.

RELATIVE STEADY SINCE 2008

The good times in Oshkosh, at the Oshkosh Corporation seem to be at an end, now that the war in Iraq is over and the Afghan conflict is winding down. A tight federal budget and peacetime operations is the culprit. The Oshkosh Corp. laid off 950 workers last year in two rounds, so somebody somewhere should have known that the old handwriting might be on the wall.

At the height of employment over the past several years, Oshkosh was home to employment for more than 3,300 men and women. It seems strange to me that the president of United Auto Workers Local 578 seemed shocked, and said that the layoffs would be “gut-wrenching.” Really…. couldn’t this guy read the signs, didn’t he read the newspaper, listen to radio news, or watch television reports…..does this guy live under a rock?

The union chief said that the employees were caught by surprise, really…. then these people must have been on vacation last year when 950 employees in separate layoffs happened. The union may have worked with the Corporation to soften whatever blow was coming, but if there’s no work, no governmental contract, and NO WARS, how did these people figure that they’d stay employed, maybe out of the company’s good graces…..I don’t think so.

I am sure that Oshkosh Corporation and local 578 negotiated to look for alternatives to keep every single man and women employed, but when war’s cease, like I said, “no contract…..no work.” Personally I am glad to see these stupid wars at an end. The workers at Oshkosh Corporation are nothing more than innocent bystanders, and although I don’t feel sorry for them, I can understand their plight.

I only hope that the Oshkosh Corporation gets completely out of the defense vehicle manufacturing business, maybe brace peace signs, or pick-up trucks for farmers, and week-end excursions vehicles for family trips would be a safer bet.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!