The two companies make tires for different businesses in different parts of the country, but both have seen the devastating effects of mis-traded Chinese imports.
TThe Federation of American Manufacturing recently New reports They called for stronger policy measures to counter China’s massive, unchecked excess capacity, warning that failure to do so would lead to catastrophic job and production losses in the United States.
But we know that hearing only from us is not enough: sometimes it’s easier to make sense of things when we hear from the people whose lives are most affected by what’s happening.
Therefore, as part of the report, Shock Waves: The ripple effects of China’s over-industrialization on American manufacturing and factory workersWe also spoke to people working in industries like steel, paper and tires who have seen the devastation caused by the surge in imports.
Below, two people working in the tire industry talk about their experiences..
Terry Cunningham, BF Goodrich
Terry Cunningham has worked at the BF Goodrich Fort Wayne manufacturing plant in Indiana for the past 21 years. As president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 715L, he has seen short-term layoffs at the plant and is painfully aware of what could happen if there is an oversupply of imported tires from China.
As one example, the BF Goodrich manufacturing plant in Opelika, Alabama, closed in 2009. Section 421 Trade Litigation It was started by the United Steelworkers union, which sought relief from China flooding the market with cheap passenger car tires.
“We’ve been fortunate not to have a ton of layoffs, but we did lose our sister plant in Opelika shortly after the 421 Trade lawsuit,” Cunningham said. “There was a lot of overcapacity at the time and a lot of imports from China, and that certainly led to the closure of one of our facilities.”
About 1,000 tire manufacturing workers lost their jobs in Opelika, adding to the 4,400 rubber-related jobs that were eliminated between 2004 and 2009. In 2008, China exported 46 million consumer tires to the United States, valued at more than $1.7 billion.
“The Opelika plant was unionized and the 421 Trade case was one of the first tire trade cases that was brought because of imports from China, so by the time the 421 Trade case was decided in our favor, we had already lost that plant due to overcapacity,” Cunningham said. “Going forward, trade litigation and the law are definitely important for our workers to stop China from routing tires through countries like Thailand and Korea.”
Cunningham understands free market trade, but he just wants it to be fair.
“Congress should create a level playing field,” he said. “If they want to bring them in, they should hold them to the same rules that we have to follow. A lot of them are now building factories in the United States. At least that makes the playing field a little more level for us.”
James Sheridan, Sumitomo Rubber USA
James Sheridan makes motorcycle tires at the Sumitomo Rubber USA plant in Tonawanda, 12 miles north of Buffalo, N.Y. The plant, formerly known as Goodyear Dunlop Tire North America, has seen several layoffs over the past few years and announced additional furloughs in early May.
“Layoffs were happening because the Chinese flooded the market,” said Sheridan, who serves as recording secretary and legislative representative for United Steelworkers (USW) Local 135L. “Now we’re seeing layoffs again in truck and bus tires because the Chinese are flooding the market again.”
“Steelworkers file new trade lawsuit against China, forcing factories to cut shifts. China is moving tire manufacturing to Taiwan or Malaysia, subsidizing it and flooding the market, violating trade laws.”
Sheridan said numerous trade cases have been filed against China over the past 25 years for dumping inferior tires into the U.S. market.
“We went to a world conference and we brought rubber workers from all over the world together in Pittsburgh and every country there said the biggest threat to their market was China. Whether it was the European Union, Scotland, South America, anywhere in the world they said the biggest threat was China,” Sheridan said. “China is killing everybody. This is what happens when governments just fund corporations. They manipulate their currencies and all their products become cheaper.”
Sheridan believes that filing these costly trade lawsuits is a vicious cycle, but one that must be done.
“I love the union and it just makes me happy when I see what our members are doing,” he said. “When people ask me where their union dues are going, it makes me happy when I can answer that question.”
“When facilities close, the associated jobs are lost and cities are devastated. Look at Gary, Indiana, or Akron, Ohio. There’s almost nothing left. That’s a sad part of our society.”
