From the public's viewpoint, a strike and a lockout look pretty much the same. Production halted. Entrances blocked. Disgruntled-looking people holding signs.
But according to Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry spokeswoman Shannon Powers, the state makes a very important distinction. In a lockout, the workers can get unemployment compensation. In a strike, they can't.
According to Powers, a number of Harley-Davidson employees have begun applying for unemployment compensation. A Web site that the Harley workers are maintaining includes information on how to apply.
Basically, Powers said, a lockout is a work stoppage that the company started - often by barring the entrances, hence the name. The workers themselves start a strike by walking off the job.
DLI approves unemployment compensation only for workers who have left their jobs through no fault or volition of their own, Powers said. The department does make some exceptions in the case of compelling reasons for leaving a job, such as an employer's refusal to pay a promised amount. But however justifiable employees might feel their reasons for going on strike are, strikers don't qualify for state compensation.
"They have voluntarily left their jobs," Powers said.
In the case of a lockout, however, the employees have been barred from their workplace and thus have no choice but to leave their jobs. In that instance, Powers said, the state considers them eligible for compensation.
So is the work stoppage at Harley Davidson a strike or a lockout? It depends on who you talk to.
Frank Larkin, spokesman for the Upper Marlboro, Md.-headquartered International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said it's pretty clear. When the unionized Harley-Davidson workers showed up for work on the morning of Feb. 1, they found the doors locked. Their contract would have expired at midnight.
"In this case, Harley shut the facility prior to the expiration of the contract, which makes it walk, talk and sound like a lockout," Larkin said.
But Bob Klein, Harley spokesman at the company's Milwaukee headquarters, pointed out that on Jan. 31, the union voted to authorize a strike after their contract expired. And the company paid them for Thursday, which was tantamount to a paid day off for union members.
"They voted on a strike. They went on strike. It is a strike," Klein said.
If it becomes necessary, the federal National Labor Relations Board would make the determination on whether it's a strike or a lockout, Powers said.
In the meantime, Larkin said, the national union has a fund for supporting workers who are taking part in labor actions.
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