02/19/2010
The true character of the Obama jihad against Toyota shines through in the new campaign to force Toyota to keep the NUMMI plant in California open.New United Motor Manufacturing Inc (NUMMI) started up in Fremont, California 25 years ago as a joint venture between GM and Toyota. A new board of directors was formed to bring Toyota manufacturing innovation and GM's desire to produce quality smaller cars together in a new plant Toyota agreed to UAW worker representation--the only Toyota plant in the U.S. to allow the UAW.
Last June, bankrupt GM pulled out. The UAW did not object. The joint venture was over. Toyota had opened a total of six manufacturing plants in the U.S.and did not need the product from NUMMI. In August 2009 Toyota announced that the NUMMI plant would close in March 2010 and nearly 4700 workers would be laid off.
California politicians raised noisy objections. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and all Bay Area elected officials pleaded for Toyota to reconsider. Even the Democrats began to notice that the loss of manufacturing jobs in California was beginning to register with voters, and, perhaps even more importantly, reduce tax revenues in a state where overspending revenues is a way of life. The state offered new subsidies to save the jobs. Toyota said no.
President Obama took office and promptly reversed the Bush decision to not use TARP money to bail out GM and Chrysler. The President who said he did not get elected to run car companies started to do just that--not only bailing out the car companies but restructuring them as joint ventures between the Government and the UAW with new executives and Boards of Directors picked by the new owners.
A side effect of the Obama takeover was the creation of a huge (and largely unnoticed) conflict of interest for the Federal Government.
The Government which had acted as a objective, regulatory referee in vehicle safety for 40 years, was now in the car business itself. With Obama, government regulatory power, union contracts, and corporate profit merged.
At the same time, Obama's Stimulus Bill promised jobs through government spending which bloated government staffs but produced higher unemployment in the private sector.
A CBS/N.Y.Times poll last week found that only 6% of American adults believe that the $787 Billion "Stimulus" had created any new jobs. Curiously, the same CBS/N.Y.Times poll, on the 25th anniversary of the death of Elvis found that 7% of American adults believe Elvis is still alive. By the CBS/N.Y. Times reckoning, more Americans believe Elvis is still alive than believe that Obama has created jobs with the "Stimulus" Bill !.
With so negative a public impression of his performance on the economy, the President acted to blame the Republicans for blocking "Stimulus II" and took advantage of real defects in Toyota cars to attack Toyota.
Toyota's six U.S. plants--all in red states, all non-union--were building the best selling cars in the U.S. Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) complaints against Toyota and other manufacturers (including GM) had been around since the car makers went to electronic accelerator controls. The NHTSA couldn't find the "ghost in the wire".
A tragic accident which killed a family in a Lexus sedan was attributed to SUA. Something was wrong and it needed to be fixed. But, in true Rahm Emanuel style, SUA became a "crisis" to advance the agenda.
Toyota's first "fix" was not good enough. All Toyota cars must be recalled. The Toyota plants must stop production. Toyota dealers must stop selling cars. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in testimony before Congress, urged Toyota owners to "stop driving their cars".Never had a car maker been subjected to such a hurricane of government action.
The regulatory "referee" had the ammunition to shut down a competitor.
Another part of the Obama Alliance--the Trial Laywers--also swung into action. At last count, 44 class action lawsuits have been filed against Toyota and its U.S. dealers.
Is keeping open NUMMI the price Toyota must pay to stay in business in the U.S. ?
This past week, the leadership of the AFL-CIO, the Teamsters, and the UAW converged on Fremont, California in the Local 2244 union hall near the NUMMI plant to start a campaign to keep the plant open or drive Toyota out of the country.
"Killing American jobs won't help Toyota regain public support or revive its sales. Toyota must reverse its decision," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in a video hookup.
"You are going to see an attack on Toyota that is unprecedented," promised Rome Aloise, a top Teamster official.
Promising to picket every California Toyota dealer and 50 top dealerships across the country, UAW vice-president Bob King vowed "if they close the NUMMI plant, we union people will not buy another Toyota."
Since the cause of the closure of the plant was GM pulling out of the joint venture in the first place, Obama and the Unions appear to be fusing government power with union power under the guise of "consumer protection" and "saving jobs" in a campaign to destroy a non-union, red state private sector competitor.
Roger Hedgecock is a nationally-syndicated radio talk host. Visit rogerhedgecock.com. The Roger Hedgecock Show is syndicated on the Radio America network.
