Keeping Secrets:

by John Stumpner

People keep secrets for many reasons. Armies keep secrets all the time to be able to easier fool and defeat their enemies. Companies keep secrets about their products to stay ahead of their competition. But sometimes keeping secrets can hurt. When the harm from keeping a secret outweighs the good, that’s not a good secret and it needs to be told.

Most of you have eaten at McDonald’s at one time or another and may have had a McFlurry dessert treat. McFlurrries are made with a special machine. The company that made those machines for McDonald’s would not tell McDonald’s how to fix them. When a McFlurry machine would break down, it would often take the company a long time to send a repairman. This meant lost profits and angry customers for the McDonald’s restaurant. Finally, the McDonald’s corporation forced the McFlurry machine company to show McDonald’s own repairmen how to fix the machines so they could be fixed immediately.

New vehicles have more safety features and are more fuel efficient than ever before. Companies have spent a lot of money on this new technology and try to protect their investment by keeping this technology secret. The problem arises when a vehicle needs repair, and the owner cannot get those repairs done with their local mechanic. Tesla owners have occasionally had to wait months for their cars to be repaired. A really good example of this problem involves John Deere (the tractor company.) Farmers often have only a few days to harvest their crops. Not harvesting on time can mean the loss of the crop and a year’s worth of income. If a John Deere combine breaks down, and it would take a week for the John Deere repairman to get there, it could mean the loss of the crop to the farmer. So, John Deere had to make their special technology available to local repairmen or risk losing all their farmer customers.

This year, ABATE of Wisconsin is going to ask our state legislature to pass a “Right to Repair” law which will require vehicle manufacturers to make any special technology required to repair a vehicle available to all mechanics and repair shops. Many states are considering or have already passed a similar law. ABATE believes that the owner of a vehicle should have the right to have it repaired as they want, not to be told what they must do with their own property. Hopefully, you can support ABATE’s efforts by writing to your assemblyman and state senator asking them to support Right to Repair. Or, even better, join your fellow ABATE members on Lobby Day, February 13, 2025, and ask them in person to support this legislation.

John