Toyota: Another Circuit City?

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/04/16/toyota-another-circuit-city/

Toyota: Another Circuit City?

by James Parks, Apr 16, 2007

Toyota’s commercials tout how many jobs the company has created in the United States and how many factories it plans to build. Workers at one of its first plants in this country say Toyota is making big profits but fails at health and safety and relies heavily on low-paid temporary workers.

And in a move barely better than that of Circuit City, where management recently fired 3,400 employees because it wanted to hire workers to do the same jobs at lower wages, Toyota may be developing a plan to reduce workers’ wages and benefits just because it doesn’t want to pay them what they currently earn.



The workers, who appeared at a March 31 town hall forum in Lexington, Ky., just a few miles from Toyota’s plant in Georgetown, Ky., demanded that the Japanese-based company respect its workers and the community that made the plant successful.

The workers say the giant automaker has received $371 million in state and local government tax subsidies since 1986. In return, Toyota had promised to locate manufacturing jobs in Kentucky that paid decent wages.

Instead, workers say the company, which is nonunion, is firing employees who are injured at work. In addition, full-time workers are being replaced with temporary workers who are paid half what regular team members earn and have little or no health insurance, workers say.

At the town hall meeting, Tim Unger, an 18-year veteran Toyota worker, said he’s noticed that some long-time workers have “disappeared” from the plant after they were hurt on the job—victims of Toyota’s quest for improved efficiency. Says Unger:

Shoulders would wear out, wrists would require surgery and back and hands started to fail. It seemed as if the good people who contributed to the success of Toyota were being used up and disposed of like garbage.

FULL story at link.

[demosincebirth]

1. When enough of them get sick and tired they'll seek unionization.

[LiberalFighter]

2. The problem is that the company will just fire any worker that...

even looks like they might want a union.

[still_one]

3. From what I understand much of labor voted for bush

Bill Clinton wasn't the best, but compared to Reagan, bush, and the republican's relationship with labor, the Democrats have been far superior

[BayCityProgressive]

4. Labor still went

over 70% for Kerry and the Dems in 06.

[Ilsa]

5. I get San Antonio news here, and SA has a Toyota plant. I haven't

heard anything from that plant about labor problems. Maybe because it is too new.