Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   Is it Really a Winner? Date:   12/18/2018 10:26:07 AM

These OSHA violations are indeed a problem and in my experience will eventually get resolved.  We do a lot of health and safety work with clients and these kind of incidents are fairly common with new manufacturing facilities and as the workforce gets more experience they tend to decrease.  I think there is also a cultural issue here with the Korean parts suppliers.  They simply don't have the same level of concern for employees as we do in the U.S.  That will change over time as they begin to understand that their business practices are not acceptable here adn will continue to cost them money over the long haul.  So I would expect these issues will go away over time and if not, OSHA will shut them down.

I will comment on the one story about the young woman who died.  Unless the company didn't have Lock-Out Tag-Out (LOTO) procedures in place she likely violated safety rules.  They don't say in the article that there were no LOTO procedures so I suspect that there were and she mistakenly violated them.  At many of our client manufacturing facilities they have very detailed and specific procedures for equipment repairs and workers have them drummed into their heads.  If the plant didn't provide that training they are liable.  Wasn't clear whether the young woman had that training and in desparation to make production quotas she went against them or she was poorly trained.  Either way it is tragic and something with their safety culture and training has to change.

On the wage front, these are highly desired entry level jobs because they recognize they can lead to more lucrative pay with good benefits.  If they weren't, people wouldn't flock to get one of these jobs.  But comparing wages in the southeast to the midwest makes the case for why companies locate here.  They are able to attract good employees at lower wages because of the cost of living, taxes, etc. are lower in states like Alabama.  That is actually called free markets and it is perfectly reasonable for companies to move their manufacturing plants to this part of the country.