Shanghai vs Dayton: a review of American Factory
Produced by Higher Ground
Directed by Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
Cast
Junming ‘Jimmy’ Wang… Vice President, Fuyao
Sherrod Brown… U.S. Senator, Ohio
Dave Burrows… Vice President, Fuyao Glass America
John Gauthier… President, Fuyao Glass America
Rob Haerr… Furnace Supervisor
Cynthia Harper… Lamination Specialist
Wong He… Furnace Engineer
Jill Lamantia… Forklift Operator
Jeff Daochuan Liu… President, Fuyao Glass America
American Factory is the first Netflix documentary to come from Michelle and Barack Obama’s Production Company, Higher Ground, and a fine one it is.
The story is this: A Chinese automotive glass company, Fuyao Glass America, refurbishes an old GM factory plant, shuttered in 2008. It comes in promising to hire 2,000 residents and pay top wages and benefits. For Dayton Ohio, a town hard-hit by the manufacturing exodus in the wake of NAFTA, it seems a godsend.
But the Chinese entrepreneurs come in with a set of expectations at odds with those of the Dayton work force, particularly those with a strong union background. At the Fuyao plant in China, it is normal for workers to work 12 hour shifts, and voluntarily, nay, joyfully accept unpaid overtime, since it is a sign of honour and dignity to sacrifice for the employer. Employees there enjoy one to two days off a month, and consider that generosity. Many of the health and safety regulations that American workers take for granted simply don’t exist.
Steve Bognar and Julia Reichert directed the 140 minute documentary, and bring considerable experience to the fore. Reichert has directed documentaries for over 50 years, Bognar for 30. Both live in Dayton, and one of their best known documentaries, The Last Truck, dealt with the 2008 closing of the very same GM plant Fuyao is taking over seven years after.
What makes the piece riveting, entertaining and sometimes humorous is the remarkable amount of access given to the film crews, not just by the American workers, but by Chinese management. They are not in the least bit reticent in describing the cultural differences that often plague their relations with the American workers, and their increasing dismay and even contempt. They view the workers as lazy, coddled, and ungrateful. Nor are Americans shy about the demands Chinese management make toward what they consider a happy and harmonious work force. Many of the grievances are legitimate, and as the confrontation hardens, workers agitate to bring the UAW in. The two sides can be summed up thusly: “If you let a union speak for you, you lose your voice.” “We don’t have a voice now.”
This is a fine first show from Higher Ground, and I’ll be watching for future projects on Netflix from them.