Autoblog

The union talk is stirring again at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant, but management at the automaker has no intention of meeting with workers trying to unionize. A group of current and former employees at the plant called the Kentucky Workers' Rights Board have drawn up a laundry list of complaints, which include what they perceive to be unjustified firings, the use of too many temporary workers, and job-related injuries.The committee is putting together a recommendation which includes limiting low-paid temps to 90 day terms, and the establishment of a safety committee. Toyota's decision not to meet with the group came after the would-be organizers declared that they would hold a press release after a management meeting. Oops.

For years, there has been a lot of talk about organizing the Georgetown plant, and as of yet, the 7,000 full-time workers have never even voted for or against a union. A push to unionize a Toyota plant couldn't be coming at a worse time, however, as the UAW may have to take big cuts from the Detroit automakers. Since most Toyota workers make roughly the same hourly rate as UAW workers, we don't think the transplant workers will want to vote for a potential pay cut. If Detroit automakers get concessions, however, Toyota could cut worker pay anyway to keep its advantage.

[Source: Auto News (subscription req'd)]

Assembly workers at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant make about $25 per hour, they build the best-selling non-truck in North America, and a lot of workers still aren't happy.

UAW members that are hurt on the job get paid 100% of their wage until they're well again, but at a Toyota plant, you may get placed in a less physically demanding role, but at a lower pay rate. This is just one example of why workers are meeting every Wednesday at a local Holiday Inn creating a game-plan to introduce the UAW into Toyota's biggest plant in North America. Another driving force for unionization is a leaked document that outlines Toyota's goal of controlling its labor costs by capping wages. Toyota officials say that being able to adjust pay at its own discretion allows it to provide stable employment for its workers when other manufacturers are leaving the region and the country all together.

The Georgetown plant has been around for 25 years without unionization, mostly because Toyota has treated its employees very well and paid wages that were competitive with what UAW members made. With Toyota's big profits and immense growth, some employees at Georgetown feel all they have to look forward to are more temp workers and "flexible pay". We know there are a lot of Autoblog readers who would be thrilled to make $25 per hour (including many Autoblog writers), but for the 7,200 workers in Georgetown, the siren call of the UAW may be getting harder and harder to tune out.

[Source: Freep]

Toyota Motor Corp. is apparently looking into adding a new model to the assembly line at its Georgetown, Kentucky facility. That's the plant we've recently covered regarding union issues. Georgetown is currently building nothing but Camrys right now, so adding a new crossover to the mix "would help ease the plant's dependence on Camry sedans." Sure, like five million Camrys indicates they need a change. They have already added Camry Hybrid production, but it's never a bad idea to diversify to allow for market fluctuations.

The plant update would likely cost around $400 million, but wouldn't add overall production capacity or swell the work force. If and when another model is added, it is likely to be a new crossover, which would require Toyota to shift some Camry production to other facilities. They would also have to be able to build this new crossover in other Toyota plants to meet global demand. With a potential $400 million on the line, it's not surprising to hear that the Kentucky legislature is working on an incentive package for the expansion.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Two former hourly Toyota employees are denying that they leaked a potentially embarrassing memo pertaining to wages at Toyota's US plants. The document, which came from Seiichi Sudo, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc, states that wages are growing faster than Toyota's US profits.

The former Georgetown plant workers, Noel Riddell and Manuel Eade, were fired on February 8 after being accused of circulating the memo. The two workers were suspected, in part because they had shown the memo to management, and both admit to being union supporters. The workers were asked to resign from Toyota, but both refused, instead opting for a peer review of their case. They say that their peers found them to be innocent, but management overruled and fired them anyway. The memo is now being used as a rallying cry for the UAW, which has been hurt by years of declining membership. The memo, which was dated 2006, calls for $300 million in wage cuts in fiscal year 2011, and UAW officials (and most likely some of Toyota's hourly workers) think that means there will be more temporary workers in Toyota's plants, and less full-time hourly workers making $25 per hour.

The UAW has long wanted to unionize non-domestic plants, but to this point there has been little luck. We don't know if this memo will help unionize any Toyota plants, but it will be interesting to see if Toyota continues to expand plants in the US if a worker's union comes as part of the package.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub. Req'd)]

Call it a case of "He said, he said." A Toyota spokesman says the Japanese automaker doesn't see an interest in unionizing among workers at its production facility in Kentucky, while UAW spokespeople say workers are showing more interest than ever in forming a union. So which is it? Could be a bit of both. UAW membership has been dropping nationwide, but the organization still has an undeniably powerful place in the industry. With more foreign automakers building plants in the States, particularly in the South, the UAW has failed to gain a foothold in these facilities.

The Detroit News is quoting Toyota spokesman Rick Hesterberg as saying the carmaker sees no evidence of increased UAW interest among its Georgetown, Kentucky plant workforce. But the News also offers statements by UAW president Ron Gettelfinger and the union's head of organizing efforts, Terry Thurman, that contradict Toyota's position. They say there is "increased activity" ever since workers found out about a proposal to lower some workers' wages to cut costs. They admit that Toyota workers' wages are close to UAW rates, but say the difference is in how volatile wages can be at a non-union plant.

Though the UAW's power has been waning, the slow resurrection of profits at General Motors will give it more bargaining power at the table this year. If a union ever were established at a Japanese-owned production facility in the U.S., that precedent would also create the opportunity for a resurgence in the UAW's popularity among hourly auto workers.

[Source: The Detroit News]

While Toyota expects to see overall growth in the US market next year, the company is cutting production estimates for its new San Antonio full-size truck plant. Originally expected to start at its full capacity of 200,000 units per year, the automaker now expects to build 150,000 Tundra pickups there in 2007. To blame is a shrinking full-size truck market, led by high fuel prices and a decrease in housing starts (we've seen data that strongly correlates the housing market to pickup truck sales). Stealing sales away from the established leaders won't be easy, either, especially not with GM's new Silverado and Sierra hitting showrooms ahead of the redesigned Tundra.

Toyota has doubled its order for Camrys from Subaru's Indiana plant, however, and now expects 200,000 units/year to come online in October of 2007. Combined with the output of Toyota's Kentucky plant, this gives it a North American production capacity somewhere north of 500,000 units/year. The automaker has already stated that it expects to sell 450,000 Camrys here next year; just how many are they thinking of pushing in '08 and beyond?

[Source: Marketwatch]