Caterpillar CEO Profiled: “We Can Never Make Enough Profit”

Business Week has an interesting profile of Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman, as the labor dispute in South Milwaukee continues.

Among the comments: “We can never make enough profit.” From it:

After walking through the Peoria factory, Oberhelman takes off his safety glasses and sits down to eat his low-carb lunch: turkey wrapped in lettuce. He talks about his upbringing in Illinois and his career at Caterpillar. He lists his hobbies (hunting, “outdoors things”). Then comes the difficult question: Why is Caterpillar fighting its workers over wages? Oberhelman nods briskly, eager to put the issue to rest.

“We have to be competitive if we’re gonna win. And frankly, if we’re not competitive … we’re not gonna be here in the next 30 years. That’s a simple message, but”—he starts to hammer his hand against the table, punctuating his words with raps—“it’s very  … very … tough.” After a pause, he lets his hand lay flat.

“I always try to communicate to our people that we can never make enough money,” Oberhelman continues. “We can never make enough profit.” 

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Milestone Year: South Milwaukee Downtown Market Opens May 23

It seems like just yesterday, doesn’t it?

Well, the South Milwaukee Downtown Market open its fifth season on Thursday, May 23, bigger and better than ever.

As always, the market is open from 3 to 7 p.m., and we’re located at 11th and Milwaukee Avenues. Our season runs for 20 weeks through Oct. 10, taking July 4 off.

Here is the press release, and check out the market website for more information.

Tell your family and friends, and bring them with you on Thursday. It’s going to be a great summer!

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Congratulations, Bernice!

Bernice smallSouth Milwaukee’s Bernice Czarnezki was the honored citizen at Thursday’s 128th Air Refueling Wing Civic Dinner Dance. I was happy to be there for the event — and thank this wonderful woman for all she has done for our community.

Please join me in wishing her congratulations. At 87 years young, she has earned them.

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Milwaukee Avenue Closures Continue Friday

Update: Milwaukee Avenue was expected to reopen by late Friday afternoon.

Sorry I didn’t blog about this before now, but those of you who drove through downtown South Milwaukee today already know this: Milwaukee Avenue is closed at the railroad tracks in both directions to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Here is the good news: The crossing is expected to reopen Saturday.

Union Pacific is performing crossing maintenance, forcing the closure. Detour routes are posted and include using Rawson Avenue, Marquette Avenue and Highway 32. 

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Headlines, Headlines, Headlines … And A Chance To Watch The Warbler

Check out these South Shore headlines …

Also, bird watchers are gathering this Sunday, May 19, at Wil-o-Way Grant for a Warbler Walk. Apparently, warblers love Grant Park. Who knew? Learn more here.

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Rawson Avenue Construction Update

If you haven’t already found alternate travel plans to avoid the mess around Interstate 94 and Rawson Avenue in recent months, you should probably do so ASAP.

The big news — Rawson will be completely closed from 13th to 20th Streets from May 28 to late June. Freeway and ramp closures are also planned at various times.

See the full recap from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation here. I’ll keep you posted.

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More Details Emerge On Sikh Temple Shooter … And His South Milwaukee Connection

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the story, which quotes FBI documents as saying Wade Michael Page lived for a time in South Milwaukee. From it:

According to the FBI search warrant, Page was in a relationship with Misty Cook from April 2011 to June 2012. The document does not say how they met, but at first it was a long-distance relationship. Page, 40, and Cook, 32, traveled back and forth between Wisconsin and North Carolina from April to October 2011 to visit each other, it says.

During Cook’s trip to visit Page in May 2011, the couple visited a shooting range and Cook fired Page’s 9mm handgun, according to the warrant.

Cook cannot legally handle a firearm because of a previous conviction. After the Oak Creek shooting, police searched her South Milwaukee apartment and found a gun. No charges have been filed in state or federal court. State and federal prosecutors did not return calls for comment Monday on Cook.

Cook and Page were active participants in an online message forum for a white supremacist group and joined in dozens of the same conversations – including some well before the time that Page is thought to have moved to this area, according to research by the Anti-Defamation League and the Journal Sentinel.

The Journal Sentinel reviewed posts under the names “End Apathy” and “Luluroman” on a message board for a white supremacy group known as the “Hammerskins.” According to the league, Page frequently posted under the name End Apathy – the name of his skinhead band – and Cook used the Luluroman handle.

In October 2011, Page used the forum to promote his band. That same month, Page moved from North Carolina to live with Cook in South Milwaukee. Page was an alcoholic skinhead, Cook later told the FBI.

In January 2012, Page encouraged Cook to join “Crew 38,” a Chicago-based white power group. Toward the end of their relationship, Page became increasingly interested in conspiracy theories and videos online, according to the newly unsealed documents. The warrant does not detail what Page was looking at on the web, but it said Cook was disturbed by it.

The warrant also says Page was active on social media, having at least two Facebook pages, under the names “Wade Hammer” and “Jackboot.” …

Page and Cook split in June 2012, and he moved into an apartment in Cudahy.

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Filed under Crime, Oak Creek