Hugo Boss to Keep Ohio Plant Open (succumbing to an aggressive union-led campaign & Danny Glover)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Wall Street Journal

By PETER LATTMAN

Hugo Boss reversed a decision to shut down a factory in Ohio, succumbing to an aggressive union-led campaign against the German fashion house and its private-equity owners.

Workers United union and Hugo Boss announced an agreement Friday to keep the plant open after a year-long negotiation. The pact is expected to save about 300 of the 375 jobs at the facility. The deal calls for pay cuts from $13 per hour to $10 per hour, according to a person familiar with the deal.

"We stood up against a multinational corporation and reversed the trend of globalization," said Bruce Raynor, president of Workers United.

"We are delighted that—together with the trade union and our employees—we have managed to find a way of keeping our Cleveland location open while we attempt to attack the competitive imbalance at this facility," said Andreas Stockert, chief operating officer of Hugo Boss, in a statement.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704388304575202432989044188.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

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Danny Glover gets a two thumbs up for his role in this!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36007050/ns/entertainment-celebrities/


Mark Duncan / AP


By Thomas J. Sheeran
updated 7:49 p.m. CT, Tues., March. 23, 2010

BROOKLYN, Ohio - Actor and activist Danny Glover has offered hugs and moral support to Cleveland-area workers at a men's suit plant that faces a shutdown next month with the loss of 375 jobs.

Workers at the Hugo Boss plant in Brooklyn, Ohio, cheered as the star of the "Lethal Weapon" action movies toured the operation Tuesday.

Glover later held a news conference and appealed to Germany's Hugo Boss AG to reverse its shutdown decision. Glover led a boycott of Hugo Boss formal wear at the Academy Awards earlier this month.

The company says its shutdown decision stands. The company says the union representing workers rejected concessions at the plant, which it says isn't globally competitive.