It
is sort of like the Ron Howard movie Gung
Ho, but the new management is Chinese instead of Japanese. That leads to
even greater culture clashes with their American workforce. Arguably, both sides
have legitimate points, but it is hard for them to find common ground. Documentarians
Steven Bognar & Julia Reichart observe the growing tensions in American Factory, which screens during
the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Until
the late 2000s, the GM plant supplied hundreds of good paying jobs to Dayton
area workers. In 2014, Chinese auto glass manufacturer Fuyao announced their
intention to refit and reopen the shuttered factory, but it was difficult right
from the start. Blame Sen. Sherrod Brown. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, he
offered an unsolicited declaration of support for unionization of the factory,
immediately making Fuyao executives, especially billionaire founder Cao Dewang,
suspicious and defensive.
With
productivity lagging behind Chinese standards, all the American executives of
Fuyao USA are axed a few month later. Attitudes become entrenched, with the
Chinese resenting American workers aversion to overtime and the Americans
growing increasingly concerned about comparatively lax safety measures.
The
frustrating thing about American Factory is
the legitimacy of the concerns of both parties and their mutual unwillingness
to look at issues from the other side. Frankly, Bognar and Reichart really bury
their lede and then pave it over with concrete when concerned workers discuss
the factory’s practice of illegally dumping chemicals. That goes beyond the
scope of regular workplace grievances. It puts the company in huge risk of
regulatory fines and sanctions.
In
fact, the American Factory doc could
be used a case study to illustrate the respective strengths and weaknesses of
the American and Chinese models of labor relations and industrial organization.
It is frustrating Bognar and Reichart never think to compare and contrast worker
productivity, economic growth, workplace safety, and pollution figures in each
country, because the numbers would be telling. There could have been some
constructive policy recommendations coming out of the film, aside from never
inviting Sherrod Brown to a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Throughout
American Factory, it is clear what happens
at the Fuyao plant will have serious repercussions on the lives of the American
workers and the very junior Chinese executives tasked with making it work. By
and large, they are all decent people, which is why it is so depressing there
is nobody in a position to effectively mediate between them.
American Factory captures a lot of
drama, but we wish it had delved further into the really fundamental issues
involved. It is compelling in its own terms, but it is too limited in scope to
offer any kind of firm conclusions. Recommended for MBA candidates studying
US-Chinese co-ventures, American Factory screens
again today (2/1) in Park City, as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
