May, 2006

Toyota Motor Company wants the world but
Toyota Way (Toyota System) is not wanted by the world.

All Toyota Labor Union Executive Committee Special Member:
Chikamori Yasuhiko

1. Finally we have organized another trade union.
January 22, 2006, after a year long preparation, a new, another trade union started as an individual basis membership, horizontal organization, open to all the workers, full-timers, part-timers, and foreigners, at Toyota Motor Company, a polar company of Japan's economic circles, and its affiliated companies. On the next day, January 23 2006, union leaders, together with lawyers, went to 4 related companies, Toyota Motor Corporation, DENSO, AISIN, and JTEKT (former Toyota Kohki), and let them know that we have organized a new, another trade union and proposed a collective bargaining. On the same day we notified the existing unions that we were going to leave them. The existing unions are along one corporation one labor union system.

2. Preparation
We named the preparatory committee "labor-management relations study society" just to avoid interferences of companies or unions. There, with lawyers assist, we learned relevant laws, judicial precedents, and experiences of a precedent trade union (Bank industry trade union, starting 1991). With that knowledge, we made union rules and documents, like organization declaration, and established organization system and chose leaders. Just before we announced the declaration we paid a visit to friendly organizations seeking for solidarity. Even Among democratic liberal unions there are some critical ideas about organizing another union of individual basis membership that is to leave existing unions structured by union-shop contracts, one corporation one labor union system. The critics insist that they aim at forming majority within the union-shop. But this policy has just got limited success in major companies. This conflict has yet to be solved though we have started another trade union.

3. Reaction of the unions
"Federation of All Toyota Workers' Union" unionizes 270,000 (regular, full-time) employees of 290 Toyota related companies (manufacturers: 108, dealers: 181, as of February 2006). This is a main organization of "Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Union", 680,000 in total, and also a leading organization in "Japanese Trade Union Confederation", which unionizes 8 million workers. Those unions showed hostile surprise facing at the start of All Toyota Labor Union. They issued fliers signed by union principal telling that "All Toyota Labor Union" is an organization which has completely different ideas from "Federation of All Toyota Workers' Union" that has long nurtured unified labor and management relationship based on each other's trust and duty, thus the new union is completely an unacceptable one, etc. Furthermore union leaders took action to persuade subcontractors to ignore it. These actions are apparently against the Labor Union Law, Article seven, that is an unfair labor practice.

4. The first collective bargaining
To hold the first collective bargaining, company management at first insisted that they would limit the number of the people from union and the duration of the bargaining, and that they would take photos and record on tape but in the end they consented to our request. It started March 22 with Toyota Motor Company and has finished with all of four related companies. All of the companies took the same attitude that they did not give any practical answer to the union demands and just said that they would inform us later. All companies are controlled by Toyota Motor Company. We asked them to hold the second collective bargaining at least in one month time. Though we require the same rights as the existing unions enjoy, our present requirements are as follows.1, Set up bulletin boards for the union. 2. Let us feel free to do our union activities in work place. 3, Should union leaders be allowed to join company events. 4, Representatives from the union should be allowed to take part in the safety and health committee at work place. 5, Union activities like collective bargaining and executive committee meetings should be allowed to be held during work hours. 6, Union should be allowed to use company facilities and equipments. 7, Make it obligation to let each other share important facts. 8, Agree to make rules for collective bargaining. 9, Refrain from any unfair labor practices.

5. Workers around Japan suffer thanks to the Toyota Way (Toyota System)
In big book shops around Japan there are corners for books to praise Toyota. We usually find forty or fifty of them in one corner. These books share matters like, 1, they contain information from Toyota public relations 2, they admire "Toyota way "as Japanese way of management typical in Toyota 3, though they say Toyota respects human they have no idea how to see working people there 4, no mentioning about trade union at all 5, subcontractors, workers there, and communities are completely forgotten. So I conclude Toyota system, along with American deregulation trend, will work out as a leverage to squeeze working people in every field.

6. International Solidarity can be a pivot of countermeasures
Since we organized a new trade union, people and organizations from the world have sent us cheers. One of them is a friend trade union at Isuzu Motor Limited. They are fighting bravely though they are also a minority union. Toyota Motor Europe Liberal Union also sent us a message to express their full support to our initiatives. We are also prepared to fight against oppression in the Philippines Toyota Union for solidarity. Toyota is famous for longer hour labor and highly efficiency oriented work condition. The Labor Standard Bureau has warned that unpaid labor is rampant in Toyota. All Toyota Labor Union is working to support a law suit to win a claim for a worker, late Mr. Uchino's compensation insurance. Late Mr. Uchino died from overwork, karosi, at Tsutsumi Factory in Toyota. Today I have petition for him with me. I would like to ask you to write your name to support this law suit. Thank you.

7. address
Wakatsuki Tadao
Chairman
All Toyota Labor Union Executive Committee

All Toyota Labor Union Office
c/o Nishi-Mikawa-Minami region trade union confederation
3-25, Touei, Chiryu-city,
Aichi- prefecture, 472-0043 JAPAN

Phone & Fax: + 566-82-6684
e-mail: atunion@mail.goo.ne.jp