Last week we asked: Do you think Harley-Davidson made the right move by banning radios and music in its plants and on the assembly line?

I am a 17-year employee there. My opinion is it is to make full-time workers more disgruntled so they can get rid of more full-time employees and bring in part-time workers without any benefits. There is no reason to ban music when it has been there for 30-plus years and it has never been an issue. All of a sudden it is now an issue with new ownership. It is a sad situation that it has come to this. I used to take pride in telling people where I work. I no longer do that.

RAY HOFFMASTER
MANCHESTER

I absolutely believe they should be allowed to have music or radios. I have worked in plenty of assembly lines and factory work and my production was always much better when I could have music or radio around. As long as it's not overwhelming or bothering anyone else I think it should be allowed. I think it would definitely be a good thing for production.

KATHI RUSSELL
GLENVILLE

I am a former employee of Harley-Davidson, and I think they made the wrong move. Music makes a person work better. I think that the higher-ups in Harley-Davidson are doing anything that they can to disrupt and get rid of that union - which is wrong, because now they are putting out shoddy products, and I wouldn't buy a brand new one if I had the money to do so. I would purchase anything

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less than'08.

STUART MIZE
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

I think the ban on music at Harley-Davidson really stinks. I have been in the plant at Harley for 24 years, and I have never worked in an area where we didn't have music. Now that they have taken our music, the afternoons are horrendous. It just seems like they go on forever and ever, and I don't feel that I am as productive as I used to be when I had music. The afternoons just drag and it's horrible. I wish we would get it back.

LORRI BENDER
YORK

I think a couple tunes would be just the thing to keep people from totally going crazy. Now if it is a dangerous situation where you work around chemicals, electrical work, or gases, those kind of things that are dangerous it's a totally different story that has to be dealt with in a different order. I think people today when they go to work and most people have jobs today that are not fun at all, it's just a matter of putting up with 8, 10 or 12 hours for a paycheck, they definitely need something to keep them under control. I think tunes would be good in a lot of work areas if it's not too dangerous.

DENNIS LAMASTER
SEVEN VALLEYS

Public opinion should have no bearing on what is done or what will happen behind the doors at Harley. I worked there for 37 years, and think it's long overdue to ban them. They are annoying and a distraction. Why would you want public opinion on an internal issue?

KENNETH MILLER
YORK

What is wrong with music over the PA system in a factory? I can understand the banning of personal radios, but not turning the factory system off. This helps the morale of the workers. Unless Harley-Davidson would rather have unhappy workers. That must be it. Sounds like the old military way of running things. Of course, it might be part of the plan to rid themselves of the union and the senior employees. I think it is the wrong decision, but it is the property of Harley-Davidson so it is their call.

LARRY MILLER
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP

It is not a good idea to have background music in a work environment where concentration to detail and patterning are required. This was all explained to me by a doctor. If you are not a musician, you hear music with the part of the brain given to pleasurable sensations, etc.; whereas logic, math and patterns come from a different part of the brain. When listening to music while working, you are forcing your brain to use both sides at the same time. This causes stress and detracts from concentration. On the other hand, if you are a musician, it is even worse because music comes from the same part of the brain given to logic, analysis, math, etc. Within that same brain lobe the two factors will fight for superiority with the music trying to totally take over. This struggle goes on all day and makes it is very stressful and frustrating to concentrate on your work tasks. I have actually had to quit jobs that insisted upon playing music in the office, because as a musician, I could not tolerate the stress of that environment.

JESSICA BUCK
SHREWSBURY

Employers like Harley-Davidson have a legal responsibility to protect their employees by providing a safe working environment. Carrying out that duty requires employers to develop practices and procedures that minimize the likelihood that a worker will be injured on the job. It also requires that employees be warned of dangers present in their work area so that they remain vigilant while doing their job. Employers that fulfill that legal duty protect their workers' lives and livelihoods, protect their business' profits and protect society from the burden of caring for workers who become permanently disabled while working on the job. From what friends who've worked there told me, the Harley assembly line is noisy enough without the extra distraction that radios and music provide, and while an assembler's ear buds and iPod might provide a respite from the din of the factory floor, those devices can easily prevent a worker from hearing a verbal warning when a dangerous workplace situation occurs. I can see why managers at Harley would conclude that banning radios and music on the production line would provide a safer work environment, and I applaud their efforts to insure the safety of their workers.

STEVE ZORBAUGH
WEST MANCHESTER TWP.