If Toyota closes Fremont’s NUMMI plant next month, the economic devastation will reverberate throughout California, with some 50,000 workers joining the army of the unemployed. But a growing movement of workers, union leaders, and elected officials is pushing to avert the closure or mitigate its impact. To turn the tide, support from faith communities will be crucial. EBASE’s Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice is proud to join this critical campaign.

You might be thinking - isn’t Toyota dead set on closing NUMMI? What can be done?

But as Mason Cooley reminds us, "events are called inevitable only after they have occurred."

What’s at stake?
The closure would be another major hit to California's already shaky economy. It would:

• affect 1,000 suppliers and 50,000 workers through the state
• erase 5,000 family-supporting jobs
• drain $500 million that the NUMMI plant generates in wages and benefits from the California economy

Each city and county will feel the effect of hundreds of people in their communities losing jobs, health care, homes and futures.

Is Toyota going the way of Wal-Mart?

Toyota:

• was #1 in retail sales last year, selling one of out of every four cars to Californians
• has never closed a plant in the company's 73 year history
• is investing billions of dollars into building new plants in Texas and Mississippi, and intends to shift production of other popular models to Canada and Japan

Sounds contradictory, right?  The company had been known for its commitment to its workforce, but we fear that Toyota has gone the way of Wal-Mart and Wall Street, allowing greed and self interest to win the day.

Keeping hope alive

The faith community and members of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice firmly believe that when people or companies lose their way, they can be called back to fairness.

To support NUMMI workers, area faith leaders will

• meet impacted workers at a series of briefings this week
• break bread with and bless workers on Thursday, March 4. 

These workers will be embarking on a pilgrimage from Fremont, to the Central Valley to Los Angeles and finally to Japan. The group will visit and bring attention to many of the communities that would be devastated by the plant closure.

To get involved or learn more, please contact Rev. Carol Been at 831-239-1254 or email Kim Carter.

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