Toyota not playing fair with their American workers!
Dear Stephen,
“Moving Forward.” That’s how Toyota describes itself to
customers. But on the treatment of their workers, the company is
stuck in reverse.
Toyota has received $371 million in state and local tax
subsidies since 1986, according to publicly available records.
In return, the company promised to bring quality manufacturing
jobs to states like Kentucky.
But Toyota isn’t keeping its promise. At a town hall forum March
31, workers at the plant in Georgetown, Ky., told about
co-workers who were injured on the job and then never came back
to work. Employees told about full-time workers being replaced
with temporary workers–who get paid half what regular team
members earn and cannot afford health insurance.
You can take action to help the Toyota workers get justice. Send
a message to Steve St. Angelo, head of Toyota North America:
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/Ypa31_F1ccU-/
These trends could be just the beginning. The Detroit Free Press
reported Feb. 8 that a “report from Seiichi (Sean) Sudo,
president of Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing in North
America, said Toyota should strive to align hourly wages more
closely with prevailing manufacturing pay in the state where
each plant is located, ‘and not tie ourselves so closely to the
U.S. auto industry, or other competitors.’” In Kentucky in 2005,
manufacturing wages were 56 percent of motor vehicle
manufacturing wages.
At the town hall forum a few miles from the Georgetown plant,
workers demanded the company respect its employees and the
community that made the plant successful.
Tim Unger, an 18-year veteran Toyota worker, said:
“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.”
Added Noel Christian Riddell, a 10-year veteran skilled-trades
worker:
“We executed model-change activities faster than any other
manufacturer. I truly felt my contributions played a role in the
company’s success. But something happened. After only a few
years, training ceased. Suddenly, I had no sick days. My raises
became smaller. My benefits were cut. My group’s manpower was
slashed. And the number of temporary employees steadily grew.”
It’s time Toyota gave these workers the respect and justice on
the job they deserve.
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/Ypa31_F1ccU-/
Thank you for telling Toyota to respect its workers.
In solidarity,
Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO