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Dear Allen,
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Toyota's
Workers Need Your
Support |
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Workers at the
Toyota plant in
Georgetown, Ky., are
losing their jobs
after being injured
at work.
Full-time employees
are being replaced
with temporary
workers who make
half the pay and
can’t afford health
insurance.
Tell Steve St.
Angelo, head of
Toyota North
America, that
the workers deserve
more respect.
Click here.
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"Moving Forward." That's how Toyota
describes itself to customers. But on the
treatment of its 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:
Click here.
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 the
company 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
justice on the job they deserve.
Click here.
Thank you for telling Toyota to respect
its workers.
In solidarity,
Working Families e-Activist Network,
AFL-CIO
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Tell-a-friend!