But you assume that Honda and Toyota are equally matched with American companies operating by an American standard when they are not. There is a CLEAR deficit in trade between American Auto companies and Asian Auto companies. I mean it's fucking massive. So, no, it's not accurate at all to assume that all things are equal when comparing the wages of an American Toyota plant with an American Ford plant when there is a giant trade deficit that allows asian car companies to offer 15/hr in the US while American companies cannot. let's see some equal trade happening between companies that we fall over each other to import from before we try to compare line worker wages.
Blaming Honda and Toyota for those trade imbalances is rather like someone blaming the workers at GM, Ford, or Chrysler for the agreements entered into by the management. Honda and Toyota did not make those trade agreements that allow them to bring cars and trucks into the United States , they simply take advantage of what our government has given them the ability to do. The plants they build here employ Americans, and use in many cases the same American supply chain the Big 3 do employing many more Americans. So is there a trade imbalance, yes there is, is that the fault of the Big 3 or Toyota or Honda no it's not, but rather it's the fault of the governments. I think it's only fair to insist that from a trade standpoint that there be a fair playing field. The line worker wages though here in the United States I'm sorry to say are from company to company just one of several factors that have caused the demise of these companies. If you want them to be more competitive then they have to reduce costs if that is on product production and keeping salary then so be it, it that is in less dealers and less employee's somewhere something is going to give. Let me cite you an example, did you know at one time the best Toyota plant , in terms of quality and workmanship was once a GM plant and is for the most part staffed by former GM employee's it was under GM the worst in terms of Quality and workmanship and costs. I'm not one Shogun to blame this downfall on the Union but it has come to the point where wages and benefits have to be adjusted or the line workers will have no jobs at all.