DGS49
Diamond Member
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goin...11e9-b873-63ace636af08_story.html?arc404=true
I haven't seen this documentary - only listened to a commentary on it on NPR, but it appears to focus on the culture clash between a Chinese owner and American workers in Dayton, Ohio.
One thing looming in the background is this: The most successful "transplant" companies in the U.S. are the auto factories built by Japanese, German, and Korean companies, most of which are profitably cranking out relatively high-quality cars that are competitive in the American market.
But here's the thing: With a few exceptions THOSE companies took great pains to locate their plants where they could find workers WHO WERE NOT INFECTED WITH THE CANCER OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. They went to Kentucky, rural Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee, places where the labor pool had very few people who had belonged to unions before and CERTAINLY NO FORMER UAW MEMBERS. This was not a coincidence.
Because THOSE people want high pay, un-demanding work, pleasant work schedules, and the ability to tell Management to fuck-off when things aren't going well.
The documentary interviews a woman who had worked for GM eight years earlier. She had been making around $29/hr for GM, and was now making about $12.50 for the Chinese billionaire's company. While she was "happy" to have the job (which was, by definition, the best job she could find), she had the attitude that she wasn't making what she was worth, and was clearly resentful.
But in the Real World, $12.50 is an OK level of pay for non-skilled workers, especially when overtime is frequently available. It's not enough to raise a family, but two such people could get by.
All in all, it is an interesting story.
I haven't seen this documentary - only listened to a commentary on it on NPR, but it appears to focus on the culture clash between a Chinese owner and American workers in Dayton, Ohio.
One thing looming in the background is this: The most successful "transplant" companies in the U.S. are the auto factories built by Japanese, German, and Korean companies, most of which are profitably cranking out relatively high-quality cars that are competitive in the American market.
But here's the thing: With a few exceptions THOSE companies took great pains to locate their plants where they could find workers WHO WERE NOT INFECTED WITH THE CANCER OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. They went to Kentucky, rural Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee, places where the labor pool had very few people who had belonged to unions before and CERTAINLY NO FORMER UAW MEMBERS. This was not a coincidence.
Because THOSE people want high pay, un-demanding work, pleasant work schedules, and the ability to tell Management to fuck-off when things aren't going well.
The documentary interviews a woman who had worked for GM eight years earlier. She had been making around $29/hr for GM, and was now making about $12.50 for the Chinese billionaire's company. While she was "happy" to have the job (which was, by definition, the best job she could find), she had the attitude that she wasn't making what she was worth, and was clearly resentful.
But in the Real World, $12.50 is an OK level of pay for non-skilled workers, especially when overtime is frequently available. It's not enough to raise a family, but two such people could get by.
All in all, it is an interesting story.