Non union Toyota workers in Kentucky plant made more than UAW members last year

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/31/toyota-workers-in-us-made-more-than-uaw-members-for-first-time-l/

Toyota workers in Kentucky plant made more than UAW members last year

Posted Jan 31st 2007 5:16PM by John Neff

Last year was the first time that non-unionized workers at a foreign-owned assembly plant made more than members of the United Auto Workers union make on average in a year. The Detroit Free Press reveals in a very interesting article that Toyota paid out bonuses of $6,000 to $8,000 last year at its largest U.S. plant in Georgetown, KY. Combined with the base pay made by a non-union worker at the plant, that equates to $30/hour or $60,000/year based on a 2,000-hour work year. That is more than the $27/hour or $54,000 a UAW member made on average last year. Union workers, or course, hardly received any profit sharing bonuses last year due to the poor overall performance of the domestic automakers.

This isn't actually surprising, as a matter of fact it was bound to happen. In many instances, Toyota and other large foreign automakers operating assembly plants in the U.S. pay their workers near-UAW wages in an effort to dissuade them from unionizing. In a year when Toyota's sales have grown to record levels and the domestics are losing market share fast, it was inevitable that Toyota's big bonuses would put the pay of its assembly workers in the U.S. ahead of the UAW, which saw no bonuses last year and likely won't for a few. The lack of overtime hours was another hit to the UAW that dropped the pay for many of its members. In time, as the domestics (if the domestics?) recover and the big bonus checks are in the mail again, we expect the UAW's pay to again top that of any non-union assembly workers in the U.S.

We recommend reading the whole article written by Jason Roberson from the Free Press, as there's a lot of layers to dig through with this story.

[lonestarnot]

1. Now that is a shame.

But until American companies build a better product, I refuse to ever buy one again.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Ditto. Every Toyota I've owned has been great- and nearly indestructible. nt

[roamer65]

5. Yup, my truck has lasted nearly 17 years.

I bought it during the first Gulf War, March 1991. It's still on the road. However, I did buy a Chevy this year, as they just offered too good of a deal. They knocked 35% off the truck.

[Lorien]

51. My 13 year old Camry is still trouble free. n/t

[China_cat]

16. Things like this have brought up a dilemma for our local

By this time next year, the local has approved either the lease or purchase (whichever will work out the cheapest) of a vehicle for the president/business rep. We want, of course, union made. BUT we also are seriously considering a hybrid as part of our effort to reduce our carbon defecit. It really doesn't look like we're going to be able to have both and membership is split pretty evenly as to which is more important in the long run.

[susanna]

46. Ford Escape or Mercury Mariner hybrids exist. n/t

[China_cat]

48. Yes they do. But the reviews on their reliability

are dismal at best.

[susanna]

50. Dismal. That's interesting.

Especially if I look it up here (seems users give it higher ratings than even the experts):

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2006&make=Ford&model=Escape%20Hybrid&trimid=-1

Then of course Consumer Reports' reliability history looks pretty sweet, here:

http://www.wsj.consumerreports.org/wsjreport178d.html

Only one "Fair" rating out of the bunch. Most of the others are Excellent.

I think maybe you should poke around a bit more.

[Clark2008]

34. What's wrong with their products?

My Fords always had far less (try none) problems than my ex-husband's piece of shit Nissans.

[Warren DeMontague]

55. Are you talking about trucks, or cars?

If I was in the market for a pickup truck, there's a slim chance I might consider American compaines; because as far as I can tell, that and monster SUVs is all they make, anymore. Does Ford even make actual cars, these days?

As for "piece of shit Nissans", I don't know what your husband has been driving, but I used to have one of those late 80s model Nissan Sentras, with 200,000+ miles on it. Never had any trouble with it until I let a "friend" screw around with the engine. Oops.



You still see that model all over the place, that's gotta tell you something.

[susanna]

47. Honest question here.

How will you know when American companies are building a better product if you've essentially crossed them off your list?

[muntrv]

2. The bonuses at Ford went to the executives instead to "retain" them.

[AX10]

3. Well, they are building good cars. People want those.

[phylny]

24. Exactly.

Two years ago, I needed a small SVU-type car that got better mileage than our minivan. I tried and tried to love the American options, but alas, it didn't happen and we bought a Honda CR-V built in Japan. It is a fantastic car, with no problems, lots of interior room, and drives really well.

It's the first time we didn't buy an American car, and it was hard for us to do.

[Union Thug]

6. The key is that they do this in response to union wages...

Unions drive wages UP. Remove the UAW wages from the picture and the landscape would very likely shift.

Also, I'm curious about pension and benefits. Are they accounted for?

[JVS]

7. Absolutely.

Also, I wonder if Toyota might be paying slightly more than unionized counterparts in order to ward off perceived need for a union among the employees.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Probably not!

Especially when more and more companies are not providing pension plans. Employees would be lucky to even get a 401k plan.

As for other posters that say they would never buy GM or Ford. They are foolish in believing the hype that Toyota and Honda builds a better quality product. If they haven't owned a GM or Ford product in years how are they able to know the difference?

I've been happy with my GM products and I will never buy a damn foreign car. And those built in the US are still considered foreign in my book.

[Union Thug]

12. I'm looking at a new Ford this weekend. Honestly, having

owned everything from Austin Healeys to Humber Super Snipes, to Triumph Spitfires, to MGs, to Jags, to Buicks, to Pontiacs, a Kia, to a Geo, to you bloody well name it, over the course of my life, I've never bought into the hype of one make being any better than any other. Each car had its unique qualities and draw backs.

I'm at the point now where my purchases tend to be based on political realities, not the bullshit marketing buzz and hype. All marketing is propaganda - viral, buzz, traditional TEEEEvee brainwashing, etc. When we purchase, we make a political statement.

[pampango]

25. Why is a Toyota built in Kentucky more "foreign" than a Ford

built in Mexico? Just because of the name on the grille?

It is true that since Toyota is a Japanese company most of the profits (which it has in abundance) go back to Japanese managers and stockholders, while the profits (if there are any) of the Big Three would go to American managers and stockholders. From a worker's point of view what should matter is your compensation and working conditions (not where the profits go), while from a car owner's point of view what matters is the value you get for your money.

[LiberalFighter]

26. Which is why I look at the VIN to determine the origin

even on American owned companies.

Why should I buy from a Japanese company that returns it's profits back to Japan and help their economy?

Why should I buy from a Japanese company that doesn't have superior product quality over the Big 3?

Why should I buy from a company that doesn't provide good working conditions?

Why should I buy from a company that utilizes questionable hiring practices? (Hiring through other agencies so that the worker is not considered an employee.)

Why should I buy from a company that doesn't provide retiree benefits? Resulting in the taxpayers paying later on.

[pampango]

28. If you want to only buy products made by American companies by American

workers, be my guest. I prefer that our farmers sell food to consumers in any country that will buy it. I prefer that Boeing sell jets to any country that will buy them. In turn we can buy their products that appeal to us.

The WP had an article earlier this week which stated that the US is still the world's largest exporter and has the largest number of jobs tied to exports. It also acknowledged that we lose jobs to imports.

One solution would be to build high walls around the country to keep out imports and immigrants. Make all of our own products using our own people. That is too nationalistic for me, but you may prefer it. I believe that we are better off, and the world is better off, if countries trade with each other.

[LiberalFighter]

29. I would be for it if the other countries didn't abuse their workers

and every country and company competed on an even scale. But they don't!

[pampango]

30. It would be nice if workers in every country made as much as American

workers do and had similar working conditions, but that is not reality. If we wish that one day that is true, is the best strategy to build those high walls and isolate ourselves from them or trade with them in the hopes that increasing prosperity in China, India, et al will lead to higher wages and better working conditions in the future?

Or do we just not care any more what happens to people in the Third World? No one is going to build a factory in a Third World country, if the only customers they can sell to are the locals who, by definition, do not have enough money to make a market for the products.

[LiberalFighter]

32. Trade agreements should require they treat their workers properly

Even in Mexico they have far better laws for workers but they don't enforce them.

[pampango]

38. Agreed. Of course the rub comes in defining the term "properly"

It is unrealistic to expect a worker in India or China to make American level wages. (If we could insist on that, we would have a sneaky way of making sure that no American company ever built another factory in China or India. Or for that matter we could be sure that no Chinese owned factory could export anything to the US.)

With trade agreements that would stipulate proper treatment of workers, there would have to be some mechanism for us to monitor the workplaces in each other's country, so there would be some loss of sovereignty for both countries. You could do that either bilaterally with each country with whom you had a trade agreement or through an international trade organization of some type.

[Clark2008]

37. And I'd prefer that fairer trade agreements.

America has a hard time selling cars in Japan because of tariffs, which are not recriprocated in this country.

That's hardly fair.

[pampango]

39. You may be right about that. Of course, we sell them lots of

Boeing jets and agricultural products, neither of which they sell very much of in our country. Does fair trade have to be specific to each product category or in some broader vision? Do they have to buy as many cars from us as we do from them and we have to buy as many jets from them as they do from us?

[Clark2008]

36. That's exactly why.

I believe all corporations could do better by their employees instead of their stockholders and CEOs, including Japanese corporations, but the profits of American companies stay here. That's the whole point.

[Clark2008]

35. Thank you.

And, as testimony, my last Mustang never needed ANYTHING but an oil change for the first 10 years. I still had FACTORY brakes on the thing and it was 10 years old!! It floored the mechanics who were replacing the brakes.

I finally traded it in on a new Mustang when it was 12 years old and all it needed then was a clutch.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

42. I see one problem with this "U.S.A./foreign" ...

I bought a 2002 Ford SportTrac. I saw it and I needed a new truck. No advertising pressure.
BUT...If it's an American named truck with an engine imported from Germany(German stamp), I ask you, is it an American truck or an Import?

[pampango]

44. To some here I suspect that your truck is considered an import,

because it, or some of its parts, have been touched by foreign labor.

Personally, I am thinking of taking American economic nationalism a step further and becoming more loyal to my state. I will only buy products that have been produced wholly within the state of Ohio. If some people can draw their purchasing borders at the shores of the Pacific and Atlantic, not counting Alaska and Hawaii, I can draw my borders to exclude Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

[susanna]

53. That engine was probably built at Ford's Cologne Engine Plant.

So it would still be a part from the parent company, Ford Motor.

[jmowreader]

54. I have a question for you about this

If you're in the market for a compact pickup, you have quite a few choices.

If you want a domestic nameplate, you can get a Chevy Colorado (or a GMC Canyon, same truck), a Ford Ranger or a Dodge Dakota.

If you want a foreign nameplate, there's the Isuzu I-280, the Mazda B-3000 and the Mitsubishi Raider.

How, exactly, are the foreign-badged trucks "foreign" when the Isuzu is built on the Chevy Colorado assembly line, the Mazda on the Ranger assembly line and the Mitsubishi on the Dakota assembly line?

If having a bowtie on the grille makes you feel better get the Chevy, but I don't really think the Japanese branded trucks can be considered foreign cars anymore. Not when the woman standing there putting name badges on the trucks as they go by has a box of American badges sitting next to a box of Japanese ones.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Every GM I have ever owned has been a piece of shit

Last one was a 94 Blazer. It started falling apart mechanically at 35,000 miles and was dead by 100,000 miles. The interior went first. The AC and defroster went out at 5000 miles. The radio was dead by 30,000 miles and I had to replace 2 electric windows at $350 apiece at 50,000 and 60,000 miles. When that car died, I was DONE.

Why should I spend a whole lot of money on a major purchase to see if GM has improved their product? Sorry I don't have that kind of money to throw away.

OTOH, I have had 2 Hondas and a Scion. My hubby is driving his second Toyota. We have not only had no problems with any of them but we have also put lots more mileage on the foreign cars than on any of our GMs.

As soon as I hear GMs are running well to 300,000 miles, like our Toyota, then I will consider buying one. But even my GM dealer is now selling Toyotas.

[amandabeech]

21. I have read that the Japanese automakers do not have any health

benefits for retired workers--not even a group medigap or prescription plan. You, your parents or your grandparents will likely find out just how little Medicare pays for some things. Group supplemental, or medigap, plans can save much money and many unpleasant surprises, and group plans are so much cheaper, even if they aren't subsidized. IMHO, large companies that do not offer any are despicable.

They have no defined benefit pensions, either, not even small ones.

[pampango]

43. I had heard that they don't have a big problem with retiree healthcare,

because they haven't had factories in the US long enough to have large numbers of retirees, but I had not heard that they didn't provide them with medical benefits. Of course, in Japan they don't have to worry about it because there is national health care.

You are right about the lack of a defined benefit plan, at least at the Kentucky plant. They have a 401K type deal that seems to be very good to most of the workers whom I know. I think defined benefit plans are becoming rarer and rarer in the private sector. They are still common in the public sector.

Someone earlier made the point that if the workers there are not happy about the combination of pay, working conditions, health insurance and retirement benefits the likelihood of a union goes way up. If the workers are happy about these things than Toyota stands a good chance of continuing to not have a union.

[elfin]

8. Health Care??

That is what killing US autos - PLUS bad reliabilty, guaranteed pensions to retirees etc.

I drive a 1992 pre-owned Toyota now at 140,0000 miles after growing up in a Flint, Michigan Chevrolet family.

I will go back when reliability and service return to the US brands - AND when US automakers come out in a big way for Universal Health Care.

[Roland99]

9. Ever been to that plant and compared it to, say, a Ford plant?

All I can say is that when the plant was expanded to build the Avalon, I was there during full production and it was so damned quiet I thought they were on a shutdown. The different between that and the local Ford plants here (and elsewhere) was astounding. And that's not even mentioning the stricter quality controls at the Toyota (or Honda or Nissan or etc. plants here in the US) vs. American manufacturers.

[ben_meyers]

11. Nothing new

Back in the 60's I worked for Univac (that was a computer company for you young ones) and our line production employees were IBEW. Union rules didn't allow me to even speak to the line people about business, I had to go through the foreman. When I moved accross the street to Control Data (another computer company for you young ones), not only were they paid better, but I could discuss production problems and solutions with the people that actually were doing the work. I think that people sometimes forget that it's the business and not the union that they work for.

[Union Thug]

13. Again, many employers do this to avoid unionizing. If it were not for

the union jobs, the price of labor would be forced down by employers racing for the bottom line - hence the trends in manufacturing jobs in a the so called 'globalized' free market.

[Solo_in_MD]

14. If you account for the difference in cost of living, its quite a bit more

Then again, I have never understood why anyone would live in the northern midwest anyway

[amandabeech]

20. Michigan summers are much more pleasant than those in Maryland.

At least in the D.C. part of Maryland, I can't go outside comfortably in the summer.

Michiganders know how to dress for cold weather and it's easier to put clothes on than peel skin off.

I like winter sports, too, and maple trees in the autumn, and people who can drive in the snow.

I also love natural lakes and uncrowded powdery sand beaches.

I don't understand why people live in Maryland if they could get similar jobs elsewhere.

[Solo_in_MD]

22. Having done both, I would disagree with you.

but I am a temporary Marylander, my real home being in CA. Here away from the family to work for a seriously large paycheck to support the kids college fund.

I am serious though about wondering why people would live in places with heavy snow and decaying infrastructure, (not just MI) when there are viable alternatives. The new car plants are built out of the snow and rust belts for more reasons that just avoiding traditional union states. It cost less to operate facilites in more temperate climes and salaries are lower since housing costs are too.

[LostInAnomie]

15. There is a Toyota plant in my town.

Toyota practices what they call "lean hiring" which basically means that they hire just enough people to meet their quota. This is good in one way because it allows Toyota to rarely have to lay people off, even when the orders are low. On the other hand, it means that the employees are subject to mandatory overtime without notice, and lots of it. They also have strict restrictions on work absences.

I'm not sure if it is the same everywhere, but here the Toyota plant has a lot of workers that aren't technically Toyota employees. They have sub agencies that provide workers for the plant, but they are not paid by Toyota. These workers don't get anywhere near the pay or benefits that Toyota employees make.

[Bozita]

19. ahhh! ... Outsourcing at a local level

When those workers ain't getting a paycheck from Toyota, somebody else is writing it.

I'd love to see a story about one of these Toyota temps.

Sorry, it reminds me of Halliburton/KBR in Iraq.

[Solo_in_MD]

23. more like Microserfs

[LostInAnomie]

45. That is essentially what it is.

From what I hear it leads to a high amount of turn-over. These people are hired by a company called PMMI (I don't remember what it stands for, something Motor Manufacturing Inc.) and sent to work at the plant. They are told that by working for PMMI they have the opportunity to work for TMMI (Toyota Motor Manufacturing Inc.) but are guaranteed nothing. People make decent money but no where near what they would make for TMMI. So they stay on for a couple of years until they finally realize that they are never going to be hired, and quit (if they have the means).

The rumor is, and a mountain of anecdotal evidence backs this up, PMMI's and TMMI's personality testing and background research targets individuals that have a tendency to not save, take out large bank loans, and have poor financial planning skills. They start making pretty good money (compared to other local wages) and take out loans to buy big ticket items (big houses, nice cars, boats, etc.) and then can't afford to quit. The local area is flooded with big houses built by PMMI and TMMI workers that couldn't afford the bills after they quit, only to be bought up by new PMMI and TMMI workers.

[Selatius]

49. The tactics at exploiting workers and keeping them non-unionized are more sophisticated than in...

the past. The motivation for greater profits at the expense of workers is still the same. The greed is the same; the methods to subjugate workers and make them more dependent upon the company are different. In the past, they simply beat and intimidated workers into submission.

[alfredo]

17. Life expectancy on the production line is 12 years.

My sister in law worked at Toyota, she is now disabled. Her girlfriend who worked there is now disabled (knees). My old cycling friend that worked there is now disabled. His spine in now held together with rods and screws. One of my customers on my old mail route screwed up his are and was put out on disability.

I could have gotten a job there and made good money, but I decided to destroy my body working at the post office. I'm now 100% disabled. I could have done that at Toyota and made a lot more money.

[LiberalFighter]

27. They use them, abuse them and get rid of them

Ford, GM and Chrysler plants have Union Ergonomic and Health & Safety Reps responsible for creating an environment that is safe for the workers. If a worker has a health or safety issue they put in a committeeman call to discuss the issue usually after failed attempts to get the foreman to correct the situation. Sometimes you can get management to do the right thing without going thru the Union Rep.

If management can abuse the workers and fire them at will when they are no longer 100% they save money. Management can do that when they don't have any union representation and the state is an employment at will state.

[LostinVA]

31. Exactly -- wages aren't everything

Job security, pensions, benefits, etc. are.

And, the ONLY reason they're getting paid so much is because of Union blood.

[alfredo]

33. In most cases it appeared Toyota did the right thing, but

they just work these people so long and hard their bodies can't handle it. My sister in law was making $75 a year, but that was because of all the forced overtime. It was that OT that caused her elbows to give out.

[Greyhound]

18. My 21 year old Nissan (300ZX) has 1/4 million miles on it and the only failure that whole time was a

water pump. I bought a new Nissan truck in 1990 and it never lost a days (hard) service until it was stolen 10 years later. My sister finally gave up on the family tradition (3 generations) of Dodge trucks and went with a Honda because she got tired of the constant break-downs and recalls and laughable resale on them.

A long time ago I worked for FoMoCo and it was then I formed my opinion that the problem with american car manufacturers is the incompetent, hereditary management.

Oh yes one last thing, Nissan's fuel injection system on this model of Z (1984 - 1989 type 31) was defective (got too hot and could cause it to stall), and they re-called all of them, in some cases, eight years after the warranty expired and replaced them FOC. What american company has ever done anything like that?

[bleedingheart]

40. Unions are necessary when employers are bad.

When you have a good employer, there is no need for a union.

When you have a shithead greedy employer, unions are necessary.

[pampango]

41. Yep. Bad pay and bad working conditions will lead to a union.

If Toyota wants to not have a union, they had better pay their employees well with good benefits and working conditions.

[alcibiades_mystery]

52. Relying on the largesse of the Company is not a long-term labor strategy

If you think it is, feel free to start a risky enterprise with your brother-in-law, with no documents spelling out responsibilities and division of assets under a variety of situations.

I've seen this several times in organizing. The Company gives up a bunch of stuff to kill the unionization drive. BUT THEY CAN TAKE IT BACK AT ANY TIME, because you ain't got a union, and you ain't got a contract. The contract's the thing, my friend, that makes you a co-partner in a business relationship and not a serf being kindly treated (for now).

And that's why such stories about Company largesse always have been and always will be a bunch of crap.