American Industry calls the class warfare into question

American Factory is a 2019 documentary about a GM automobile factory that was shut down in 2008. Six years later, the facility was purchased by a Chinese billionaire who rehired part of the former employees and a further contingent of 200 Chinese workers.

The directors of this movie, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, were at the first event when they made a documentary. The facility purchase by Chinese Cao Dewang represented a relief for the community and a resumption of the motion picture.

In the beginning, everyone is optimistic: "chairman" Cao hopes that the Americans will see the Chinese more positively. He also hopes that they can work in harmony with the 200 Chinese workers who came as coaches.

Chinese workers take classes on American culture and are amazed to learn that their colleagues can joke about the president. Americans are frightened by the Chinese's "patriotic" dedication but are content with their (reduced) paychecks.

Gradually, this attitude towards work shows an irreconcilable cultural difference. Fuyao's productivity in China depends a lot on the "reification" of employees in that country (communist?), In addition to long working hours and an absolute disregard for work accidents.

In an attempt to minimize the resistance of American employees to this style of management, local managers are sent to China to observe the form of work in that country.

The growing frustration, with the low wages and with the increase of the injuries at work, leads some employees to seek affiliation with the United Auto Workers, union organization that Dewang loathes even with the closing of the factory in retaliation.

Fuyao executives pay a millionaire amount to "consultants" to clarify about the harmful effects of the union movement, and unionization does not happen. The historic class warfare is called into question when a communist entrepreneur bars the unionization of capitalist employees.

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