Toyota motors announced this week that it's resuming construction on a nearly-complete factory in northern Mississippi. The Blue Springs, MS plant is expected to start producing Corolla sedans beginning in 2011 and will hire an estimated 2000 new workers- As far as I know, these aren't Census jobs. Construction on the plant halted in late 2008 during the economic crisis when new car sales plummeted.
Despite hiring new workers in a state that has an unemployment rate as high as 11.5%, the UAW reacted to Toyota's announcement by bitching and moaning about how Toyota plants in the USA are non-union [because I'm sure that sticky accelerator problem would never have happened if Toyota's workers signed up for the UAW- NANESB!].
UAW President Bob King claims that Toyota pulled out of a joint venture with GM in California so they could open up a non-union plant elsewhere. Toyota said they couldn't operate the plant alone after GM's bankruptcy forced them to pull out of the venture.
Toyota's announcement came on the same day that GM announced that it would be keeping nine of its eleven North American assembly plants open throughout the summer to accommodate increased demand.
UAW will tell you that their #1 priority is job creation, but they'll stand against it if possible.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me started on closed-shop regulations, either