Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 14, 1991 TAG: 9104160459
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
You've heard about them, no doubt. Some U.S. executives like to blame them - especially the unionized ones - for the long, slow decline of American manufacturing.
The Japanese, on the other hand, thrive - it's well known - because their workers work cheap, and in a disciplined manner.
Why can't our overpaid, less efficient, more careless workers be more like their Japanese counterparts?
Well, it would help if they were making higher-quality products. Japanese cars, for instance, have consistently outperformed American-made automobiles for nearly two decades.
Myopic American auto executives for years thumbed their noses at this nation's consumers. They have demanded trade quotas to keep prices high and preserve market share. They still face a big challenge convincing American consumers to take another chance on their products.
Meanwhile, just five years ago, Toyota opened a plant in Georgetown, Ky. The plant employs 3,500 workers, and now its managers are expanding operations. Toyota will increase the plant's output of popular Camry sedans and station wagons from 220,000 to 420,000 per year. It's an investment of about $800 million. About 1,500 more workers will be hired.
And guess what. Ninety-five percent of the Toyota employees in Kentucky are American autoworkers.
Those greedy, sloppy, lazy American autoworkers.
by CNB