If Governor Jennifer Granholm has done her job, Toyota Motor Company will build an engine-transmission plant
in Michigan. Unfortunately for Detroit, it will be as far away from UAW strongholds as possible, which means that the
manufacturing jobs Detroit so desperately needs won’t be arriving.
As one of the finalists in the race for the
plant, Michigan is only as strong as its least union-friendly location, which excludes the UAW’s hometown. What
Michigan does have going for it, however, is its high unemployment rate (that’s not something you hear every
day!). It’s Toyota’s hope that the United States would see Toyota’s choice of Michigan as a charitable act in
order to reduce trade friction — maybe if the company is considered to be throwing the U.S. a
bone, the government won’t be as likely to get pissy as Toyota poises itself to beat the home team and
become the world’s #1 automaker.