Comments on: National Labor Committee Alleges Toyota Supplier Sweatshops

By: marc

marc — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:15:35 +0000

I’m glad TTAC took some time to analyze this before just haphazardly reporting it as other websites have done. On those sites I have posted my same critique… “low on stats, big on anecdotes” The evidence is very shaky. Furthermore TTAC poits out that this is not about Toyota, but about suppliers. So this is even a bigger problem with this article. Everyone is guilty of all of these shady corporate practices.

I did a little research into just the Myanmar allegation. NLC found one Toyota supplier (partly owned by Toyota) that does business with Myanmar. But so do Daewoo (GM), Siemens (parts for MBZ, Porsche and BMW), Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Tata, Chevron, Maersk (who ships cars for, well, who dont they ship cars for??). But Toyotas are driven by celebrities. See the connection.

As for labor issues, again this is an industry wide problem. Building cars in China, Mexico, how do you think those labor conditions are?

No, this piece was pure propaganda. I’m pro-union, anti-corporation. My values are aligned quite closely with what NLC supports. But these PR, celeb-driven pieces disgust me. They’re no better than Access Hollywood, Perez Hilton, local news during sweeps week, the Enquirer, and all the other sensationalistic “journalism” that passes for real news.

You want to know whats going on, rent “The Corporation.”

By: ra_pro

ra_pro — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:06:35 +0000

“Workers of the world unite”, somebody, who many consider a moron, called Karl Marx said some time ago. Can someone explain to me where exactly is this slogan wrong?

By: reclusive_in_nature

reclusive_in_nature — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:36:10 +0000

Great article. Just when I think this site is unfairly biased to foreign brands you go and do this…… AND COMPLETELY REDEEM YOURSELVES!! Good job.

By: quasimondo

quasimondo — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:08:10 +0000

Is the U.S. solely responsible for everything bad?

Yes. I call it the ’six-degrees of America’ theory. This theory states that every bad thing in the world can be traced back to the American government, an American company, or Americans themselves in six steps or less.

By: kjc117

kjc117 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:59:52 +0000

Other companies also follow this practice in Japan not only Toyota suppliers. Japanese government estimates 10% of their population will be foreign born in the upcoming years. Due to low population growth and many young Japanese not wanting to work in factories
Japan has to increase their importing of foreign workers.

This is not “new” it is well known. They should send a ship for some Mexicans. Japan has a large Brazilian guest worker population. National Labor Committee should go to Japan and interview the Brazilian workers.

By: MikeInCanada

MikeInCanada — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:48:00 +0000

Not seeing what the problem is here……

By: golden2husky

golden2husky — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:26:49 +0000

Somewhere a middle ground needs to be reached. Historically, before unionized labor, workers were treated like disposable humans. Anything to maximize productivity with the least amount of compensation. Hey it takes a lot of cash to live the life of an industrialist. In the post Walter Ruther days, the pendulum swung hard the other way, with labor calling the shots. Predictably, quality and productivity hit the crapper, which eventually undermined consumer confidence in the union made product. Today, workmanship flaws are way down, and reliability is up, but the union needs to be more flexible with the work rules. Where wages should be set is the tough one. The ‘global” economy has been great for $50 Chinese DVD players, but it has wreaked havoc on middle income Americans. The future looks pretty bleak for those who are fifty years old and grew up in a “Ford” family. The cold callous cry of “retrain” is pretty pathetic. Work a full week (at a new, lower wage), raise your two kids, and go to school at night for 5 years, all at middle age. Most of today’s spoiled 20 year olds couldn’t handle that.

By: 50merc

50merc — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:57:06 +0000

seoultrain asked, “Am I giving too much benefit of the doubt?” No, you’re just guilty of the sin of not swallowing whole the allegations and questionable logic of a special interest group. The National Labor Committee says nothing on their website about their funding, but their supporters and “friends” (check MySpace) make it clear the NLC is the voice of unions and various leftists. Which is fine by me, as long as they don’t hide it. My problem is they call abominable working conditions at suppliers, especially in Third World countries, “abuses committed BY [my emphasis] U.S. companies producing goods in the developing world.” Is the U.S. solely responsible for everything bad?

By: seoultrain

seoultrain — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:40:12 +0000

The worst part is that this will be forgotten when compared to what will eventually come to light about working conditions in the Chinese auto industry.

But back to Japan: if these suppliers are being up-front about the terms to these guest workers and is not forcing them to be shipped out to Japan, this is being made to sound a lot worse than it is. It’s only human trafficking if these people are deliberately being deceived and exploited against their will. Disadvantages of non-citizens living in Japan are nothing new, and not specific to automakers, or even labor. It’s very possible these workers are aware of the terms, but it still provides an opportunity unavailable at home. Also, those guest workers who don’t like it get “deported”. Does that just mean they get sent back home?

Am I giving too much benefit of the doubt?

By: mel23

mel23 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:30:39 +0000

Listening to the guy and reading from the National Labor Committee website, I think he’s very credible. I hope this committee or the UAW can get the ear of some of the celebs who drive the Prius and pull Toyota’s chain big time. This crap should not happen.

By: Dynamic88

Dynamic88 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:24:22 +0000

Any info on Honda?

By: Gardiner Westbound

Gardiner Westbound — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:20:48 +0000

If things are as bad as it says they are the UAW should get its butt over to Japan and start signing up Toyota workers.

By: CarShark

CarShark — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:17:35 +0000

@quasimondo:

Yeah, because then all the jobs would be getting shipped to China or Vietnam instead.

By: quasimondo

quasimondo — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:41:47 +0000

See, now if the UAW had expanded it’s reach into the Japanese auto supply system, this wouldn’t be happening, I tell you what.