Read the attached document and answer the two questions:
Discussion Questions
1. Most local governments and politicians are driven to bring jobs into their districts. What can be done at the local level or the national level to attract employers, but at the same time protect taxpayers and the local labor force?
2. Are the financial penalties that are administered by OSHA enough to deter employers from engaging in unsafe work practices, and if not, what else can be done to protect employees and better inform them of the risks associated with specific employers?
Creating Jobs and Injuries in the American South “This brings shame on your reputation. American consumers are not going to want to buy cars stained with the blood of American workers.” This was the stern warning that David Michaels, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) gave to top level executives at Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Company after showing them some startling statistics. All of these numbers pertained to serious safety violations and injuries that were occurring at U.S. plants that supplied parts to the giant automakers. Most of the plants were located in Southern states such as Alabama, and the statistics were unpleasant. For example, workers at auto supplies plants located in Alabama were 50% more likely to be injured compared to the industry as a whole, and over 50% of those injuries could be traced to Korean-owned plants. Southern states originally opened their arms to non-U.S. manufacturers when they moved into the region in the1990’s, and the partnership seemed like a win-win proposition for all. Companies like Hyundai and Kia created thousands of new jobs for American workers, and in return, the companies received favorable tax treatment and access to a large labor force that had a strong work ethic, and that was largely non-unionized. This workforce was clearly a source of advantage for these firms when it came to competing against U.S. companies, many of which are located in the Northern states. Twenty years later, however, many of these states are reconsidering the bargain they struck due to the fear that the harsh working conditions often found in Asian sweatshops are also being imported into the American South. For example, Reco Allen took a custodian’s job at the Matsu Alabama plant at just $9 an hour, specifically avoiding higher paid jobs due to his fear of the machinery. His only training basically consisted of where to find the mop and pail. Still, despite this, on one evening after a 12 hour shift, he was ordered to work a metal pressing machine when the employee who regularly did that job failed to show up for work. Unfortunately, the machine malfunctioned and when Allen tried to fix it, it kicked back on and the press slammed down on both of his arms. It took emergency crews over an hour to free Allen, all the while his arms were burning and crushed inside the press. Subsequent investigations into Matsu revealed that this was far from an isolated incident. The evidence showed that the plant had routinely forced untrained employees to operate dangerous machines that were often producing at a rate that exceeded the manufacturer’s recommendations. To be fair, most of the problems that OSHA was able to document did not directly point to the large automakers themselves. The safety records for workers at Hyundai and Kia themselves are not worse than the industry as a whole. However, OSHA felt that the large companies were pressuring their smaller suppliers, who were operating with small margins and competing against Asian and Mexican plants, to hit quotas that were impossible to achieve without bending the rules. The sustainability of this practice is highly questionable, and now many employees who once worked with companies that supplied Hyundai and Kia, have quit and taken their skills to American owned auto plant suppliers. One such employee was Cordney Crutcher, who left Matsu and joined a U.S. plant whose workers were represented by the United Auto Workers. Crutcher notes that “They teach you the right way. They don’t throw you to the wolves.” Discussion Questions 1. Most local governments and politicians are driven to bring jobs into their districts. What can be done at the local level or the national level to attract employers, but at the same time protect taxpayers and the local labor force? 2. Are the financial penalties that are administered by OSHA enough to deter employers from engaging in unsafe work practices, and if not, what else can be done to protect employees and better inform them of the risks associated with specific employers?