King's Toyota Picketing Begins in Cali, NY

The call for picketing Toyota dealerships in the US made by the new United Auto Workers (UAW) president, Bob King, turned reality this week, as the official announced members and retirees of this organization have begun demonstrating at Toyota dealership in California and New York.

Officially, King's campaign against Toyota comes as a result of the closing of the New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) plant. According to the UAW president, Toyota abandoned an unionized plant, NUMMI, and chose to open a non-unionized one, in Mississippi.

Unofficially, the UAW is suffering from lack of manpower. As a result of last year's job cuts, the organization's manpower dropped below 400,000.

Even if he's probably aware that it is not Toyota, but GM to blame for the NUMMI closure, King has no choice but to go after the same non-unionized people working for the Japanese manufacturer.

Who remembers, for instance, Toyota ever threatening to close plants in the US? Apparently, King does.

"We're going to ask people of conscience to stand up and tell Toyota to stop abusing workers, that preventing workers from exercising their First Amendment rights is wrong," when announcing the main direction of his presidency.

“Our No. 1 fight with Toyota is to give those workers the choice. Not for Toyota to make the choice … to fire workers and to threaten to close plants.”

The picketing which began this week displeased the American International Automobile Dealers Association, who called King's call to arms “an assault on America's auto retail industry.”