A Chinese glass manufacturer’s decision not to comply with a congressional oversight inquiry prompted Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to convene a revealing roundtable with the plant’s former workers, where they described a series of hazardous work conditions and fears for their safety.
asserted
they → comply → safety
Khanna, the ranking member on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), first reached out to Fuyao Glass America and its Chinese parent company Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. in July, requesting documents detailing the company’s business and labor practices.
asserted
Khanna → reach → practices
Fuyao quickly drew the attention of Americans in the Rust Belt and beyond when it became the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary "American Factory," which chronicled its takeover of a former General Motors plant outside of Dayton, Ohio.
asserted
which → draw → Dayton
The company has since been mired in scandals ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for workplace safety violations to the 2018 death of factory worker Ricky Patterson.
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company → mire → Patterson
In a subsequent October letter to Fuyao leadership, Khanna decried the company’s refusal to dialogue, condemning them for only sending one single letter in response to his numerous inquiries.
asserted
Khanna → decry → inquiries
Fuyao's Sept. 23 response, Khanna wrote in his Oct. 1 letter to the company, "answers virtually none of the Committee’s questions in a material way and fails to include any document submissions."
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Khanna → write → submissions
Despite Fuyao’s silence, Khanna made the journey to Western Ohio, an area of the country decimated by a loss of manufacturing jobs in recent decades.
asserted
Khanna → make → decades
Khanna convened a roundtable discussion on Tuesday involving former Fuyao employees and current union leaders at the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) headquarters in Dayton, Ohio.
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Khanna → convene → Dayton
During the discussion, former Fuyao workers described unbearable heat, an inability to communicate with their Chinese supervisors, and apparent labor violations involving their Chinese counterparts, among other grievances.
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workers → describe → grievances
They don't care," Tiffany Moore, who worked at Fuyao for three years, told the group.
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who → care → group
They can't communicate with you.
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They → communicate → you
When you try to communicate with them, they'll send someone else to you.
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they → try → you
Maybe one of them speaks English," Moore continued.
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Moore → speak → English
Like many of the former Fuyao employees at the table, Moore now works at Duramax, a General Motors-owned engine manufacturer, where she says she is much happier.
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she → work → Duramax
But to even apply for the position she had to employ clandestine measures to avoid retaliation from her Fuyao bosses.
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she → apply → bosses
"You can't put your two weeks in because if you put your two weeks, they'll get rid of you before your two weeks come up for any reason.
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weeks → put → reason
They'll tell you they don't have to have a reason to get rid of you just so that they can fill your position.
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they → tell → position
So when I left there, I had to actually sneak out, do my orientation at DMAX.
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I → leave → DMAX
And then call them and tell them that I wasn't coming back and for them to release my 401k," Moore said.
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Moore → call → 401k
Demetria Hodges, another worker who fled Fuyao for Duramax, recounted the time a Chinese forklift driver, who she believed to be unlicensed, struck her with the machine and faced no accountability.
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she → flee → accountability
"It was on camera, they have cameras in there, and they acted like they didn’t know who the forklift driver was," she told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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she → have → interview
"So when I tried to pursue a lawsuit and my workman’s comp, they pretended like they didn’t know who the person was.
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person → try → lawsuit
"
While the American workers described abysmal conditions for themselves, they said the Chinese workers were treated even worse.
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workers → describe → themselves
"They were treated horrible," Moore told the group.
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Moore → treat → group
"They weren't allowed to take anything from us.
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They → allow → us
They weren't really allowed to communicate with us.
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They → allow → us
They weren't allowed to mix with us."
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They → allow → us
Moore, Hodges and others said the Chinese workers were almost always the ones chosen for promotions because Fuyao could pay them less.
uncertain
Fuyao → say → less
They also said the company was constantly busing in new workers from elsewhere.
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company → say → workers
"They used to rotate them out every couple months.
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They → use → them
Like they will go to New York and get a bus for or a van full of people and bring them down here.
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they → go → them
And they work for a certain amount of months and then they rotate and send them back," Hodges said.
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Hodges → work → them
When Hodges explained that workers were still forced to come to work the day after part of the factory caught fire, Khanna asked her if the workers were undocumented.
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workers → explain → her
"I believe that's why they accepted it because they were undocumented," Hodges said.
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Hodges → believe → it
Darrell Jones, another former Fuyao employee, told Khanna he felt the workers needed a union backing them, a point which quickly drew heated commentary from the group.
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which → tell → group
"They wouldn't let a union come in there," Moore chimed in.
asserted
Moore → let → ?
"You couldn't even speak of a union being in there.
asserted
union → speak → ?
"
"Or you could lose your job," Hodges added.
uncertain
Hodges → lose → job
Jones went on to explain that Fuyao threatened employees, telling them the company would take away their health insurance if they unionized.
asserted
they → go → insurance
Hodges then added that the company offered employees a one-time pay bump of $2 an hour if they voted no on a planned unionization referendum.
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they → add → referendum
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
