If you look closely at terms describing the Toyota factory process you will notice the word “Assembly.” This is the process by which non-union workers handle parts from crates located in the factory and through the process of “assembly” a vehicle is formed. Toyota located their American Assembly plants in the “right to work” states knowing full well the UAW would be hard pressed to organize workers in any manner. Non-Union, low security, no substantial workers rights is the name of the Toyota game.

If Toyota says you will stand up and stay at your work station through lunch then so be it. If Jack Aust shows up at your work station and says you’re fired because you like Jack Roush and agreed with this article, so be it. You have a job with very few rights. Toyota workers can be terminated without cause at any time. Workers in a Toyota assembly plant can be fired without cause one day before completing an agreed upon length of time that would vest said worker into a retirement program. Jack Aust can gradually speed the assembly line up day by day until you are running, fire you claiming your production has slowed. Don’t believe me? Go to the Department of Labor and Industries and ask the question yourself. Toyota workers have a job in theory only. There is no paperwork to protect you.

As time passes the American public begins to believe the spin about Toyota. They see jobs’ being created as the image takes on a physical form. In today’s society it’s about having a job. Toyota preys upon that issue to a point of having you believe they are all about making America grow. In most labor circles it’s referred to as “job scared.”

You have a job paying the bills but, you seem to be tolerating an ever changing work environment of which you have no control. Toyota has you by the short hairs because of that damn mortgage and your new Ford F-150 pick-up with the Jack Roush appearance package. You become nothing more than sheeple going along with the status quo. Forget about meeting with others that share in your grief, you’re in a right to work state. A flock of awaiting sheep graze outside the gate willing to do whatever Jack Aust says.

Ask yourself this question:

Why would a foreign maker of goods not want to grow their own economy (Japan) taking care of their own people? Is this something that makes reasonable sense to you?

It’s the import restrictions placed by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton along with the 25% duty on imported trucks making this phenomenon happen. Notice we said “trucks” and not the word “cars.”

Looking at one small example of Toyota importing takes us to Portland Ore. This area is home to Terminal 6, a port of call where Toyota cars find their way from Japan to America. There are several ports servicing Toyota ships along the West Coast including Oakland, Ca. For the purpose of this article we will use Terminal 6 as our example. Terminal 6 is one location in which Toyota doesn’t have a say about labor. If it moves, a union worker moves it, period. See how Toyota conforms when they are forced to?

Remembering there are restrictions on imports from Japan, Toyota still sends totally assembled cars to America by means of very large car carrying ships. Toyota has constructed a facility at Terminal 6 which is typical of several West Coast ports. After cars are driven from Toyota ships by union workers, they go to this port located facility in order to be prepared for rail shipments around the country. The Port of Portland is currently behind an effort to deepen the Columbia River channel which will allow for larger ships. This project will mean even bigger car carrying ships will arrive from Japan with fully assembled vehicles.

In 1996 The Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 laid claim to 250,000 Japanese, Toyota cars making their way to America. In 2002 that number has increased to nearly 400,000. Although those numbers appear small in comparison to the bigger total picture, you can clearly see Toyota has increased the number of cars unloaded from ships originating in Japan. Terminal 6 is small in comparison as to what is located near Oakland, Ca.

There is a premise suggesting Toyota is watching out for America, thus being described as All-American.

In 2002 West Coast International Longshoremen closed down the ports due to labor negotiations. The All-American company, Toyota was forced to close down its Fremont California car and truck plants due to the fact they ran out of parts. Production was halted in Tennessee and a Toyota spokesman told The New York Times, “We’re really short on parts that come from Japan, starting with the engine.”