This story finally showed up locally today, although it seems to have
been "broken" on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. At first I assumed
the lady was a UAW plant, but she worked at NUMI for 23 years. Seems
like a long time for a "spy" to wait around.
The following quote from
http://www.examiner.com/a-1060563~Fremont_whistleblower_files__45M_law...t_again
is disturbing. I hope it isn't true:
'Cameron's attorney, Kelly Armstrong of San Francisco, said today that
Cameron has been on medical disability leave since July because "she
was subjected to incredible emotional distress."'
'Armstrong said management distributed a flier with Cameron's
photograph on it stating she was crazy and had escaped from a mental
hospital.
'In addition, one co-worker tried to slam a car door on her arm while
she was working on a vehicle and another pumped fumes into an enclosed
area to give her nausea, Armstrong said.'
A longer version of the story is at
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/20/news/companies/bc.japan.toyota.whistle...wer.ap/
GM-Toyota plant hid defects, suit says
Managers at venture between U.S. and Japanese automakers accused of
silencing auditor's reports of faulty automobiles.
TOKYO (AP) -- An employee at a California plant run jointly by General
Motors and Toyota is accusing her managers of allowing serious defects
to go unchecked, including faulty seat belts and braking, and
retaliating when she resisted, according to a lawsuit filed earlier
this month.
In the case before Alameda County Superior Court in California, Katy
Cameron, a certified auditor who has worked for 23 years at New United
Motor Manufacturing Inc., says management routinely deleted or
downgraded defects from her reports on vehicles since 2005.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 6, demands unspecified damages for retaliation
against a whistleblower and intentional infliction of emotional
distress from NUMMI, Toyota Motor Corp (Charts)., Toyota (Charts) in
North America and General Motors Corp.
According to legal documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press,
defects that were intentionally passed over included broken seat
belts, faulty headlights, inadequate braking, mirrors falling off,
engine oil leaks and steering wheel alignment problems -- all in an
effort to decrease the number of defects. It is not clear whether any
defects resulted in accidents.
When Cameron, a trained expert at spotting defects, complained, her
bosses struck back, demoting her twice, accusing her of being crazy
and violent, forcing her to submit to mental fitness tests, according
to the documents.
An officer at NUMMI, the Freemont, Calif.-based joint venture,
threatened to fire her and then tried to get the personnel department
to dismiss her, the lawsuit said.
"NUMMI has done everything in its power to try to break Cameron
psychologically and force her from the workplace," the lawsuit said.
"Cameron is an American hero who will not be silenced by multibillion
dollar corporations at the expense of hardworking American consumers
and families."
As a result of the persistent on-the-job maltreatment and harassment,
Cameron has been getting medical treatment for stress, depression,
fatigue, insomnia and panic attacks, it said. She is now on medical
leave.
Toyota in Japan declined comment on the lawsuit, saying it was still
looking into the allegations. But it did release a statement Tuesday
saying it was "tackling quality problems as a top priority."
GM spokesman in Tokyo Michihiro Yamamori said he did not know about
the lawsuit.
NUMMI, set up as a joint venture in 1984, produces the Corolla
subcompact, Tacoma pickup and Pontiac Vibe wagon. One of the plant's
purposes was to have American workers learn Toyota's production
methods. It has been the topic of numerous labor relations studies,
and the company claims teamwork and safety among its "core values."
Quality problems have been creeping up at Toyota, which traditionally
has a stellar reputation for reliability. Toyota's recalls have
ballooned over the last couple of years, and President Katsuaki
Watanabe has promised to beef up quality control.
Last month, Consumer Reports said Toyota "is showing cracks in its
armor" and will no longer get automatic recommendations from the
magazine when it releases new or redesigned vehicles. It also removed
several Toyota vehicles from its recommended list because of quality
issues.
Toyota, which appears to be on track to beat GM as the world's biggest
automaker by sales as soon as this year, recalled 766,000 vehicles in
the United States last year, down from 2.2 million in 2005, but up
from 210,000 in 2003.
The lawsuit says NUMMI management blocked Cameron from communicating
with other departments, including the quality division at Toyota in
Japan, by barring her from meetings and denying her an opportunity to
be considered for travel assignments.
The "Toyota way" of manufacturing is emulated by manufacturers around
the world not only because it eliminates waste but also because it
empowers the individual worker. In principle, workers are encouraged
to stop an entire assembly lines if a problem arises.
-----
Slightly different versions of this story showed up in lots of places
last Tuesday. I suppose if you are going to have the press say bad
things about you, the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week is a good time.
Here are a sampling of other versions:
http://www.autoblog.com/tag/katy%20cameron/
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071122/BUSINESS...7112203
http://www.leftlanenews.com/lawsuit-claims-gm-toyota-allowed-for-defec...at-cali
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/1E9270BA59...8CB8625
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Katy+Cameron%22+Toyota
Ed
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