Phil, apropos of your post on the Toyota recall and the strangeness of attempting to draw “a sharp distinction between American and foreign auto producers,” there’s this gem (H/T Pletka):
The UAW and the Teamsters union protested outside the Japanese Embassy in Washington today calling on Toyota to reverse decisions to close a California plant and hire nonunion carhaulers . . .
[UAW Vice President Bob] King and other union officials linked Toyota’s recalls to the management decisions made to close down the California plant, saying both were examples of how Toyota had strayed from its principles.
“It’s a Toyota decision. It’s Toyota engineering that’s creating havoc with consumers in America,” King said.
So they hold a protest at the Japanese embassy? As you point out, if anything it’s American engineering “creating havoc with consumers in America.” Given the bad faith of the UAW and the Teamsters in this instance, is it any wonder Toyota wants to move its plant to a right-to-work state?