71-year-old Cao Dewang comes to the factory in Ohio every month or two by private jet. What do Americans think of him?

On a sultry afternoon in late July, the car was driving on the road from Dayton, Ohio to Moraine, USA. Outside the window, there were endless meadows and dense trees in Ohio, and jazz was slowly flowing inside the car. David, the driver, held out three fingers and waved them in front of me. "Fuyao's hourly wage is 3 dollars more than the local average wage of 13 dollars, so all the locals want to find a job there." He said.

The factory of China Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Fuyao) in the United States is about 15 minutes' drive from Dayton Airport. It is the largest single factory for manufacturing automobile glass in the world, with an area of 1.8 million square meters, and the whole factory covers an area of 675 mu. Since October, 2114, although Fuyao has invested 211 million dollars to renovate this abandoned GM factory and drove into the factory, it can still feel the rusty and desolate atmosphere of this American automobile factory in the 1921s. Some unfinished factories still bear the name of the old factory: Moran Automobile Assembly Factory.

Fuyao is obviously a local star enterprise. Almost every local I met had a friend or relative who worked or worked in Fuyao.

Fuyao has employed 2,111 American employees in Moraine, exceeding the 1,511 employees agreed with Moraine and the Ohio government at that time. According to Cao Dewang, chairman of Fuyao, who told local media in the United States, Fuyao will continue to employ 3,111 local employees. This is obviously a huge source of employment for Maureen City with a population of only over 6,111.

"What is the concept of $3? If each worker works 41 hours a week, he can earn an extra $121 a week. " David said. Each worker can earn an extra $481 a month. According to Maureen's local consumption level, you can rent a very comfortable two-bedroom apartment in the urban area for less than $811 a month. "But now people are afraid to work in Fuyao." David said, "Fuyao asked them to work as hard as China workers and complete their tasks quickly." David stretched out his right hand as he spoke, playing his fingers quickly in the air like a piano.

The parking lot outside Fuyao's American factory Photo by Li Meiling

There is a huge parking lot in front of Fuyao's factory. In the glass smoking lounge facing the parking lot at the factory gate, shift workers usually smoke, communicate, rest and wait for the bus here before entering the factory and after work. American workers in and out of the factory kept smiling and greeting me, showing their strong accent in Chinese: Hello! How are you? thank you Goodbye!

On July 9, local time in the United States, Jake (a pseudonym), a young American employee who just got off work, was sitting on a bench to rest. He was wearing tannin jeans, wearing transparent safety glasses on his head, hanging a work card around his neck, short blond hair, and tattooed with blue numbers and a cross pattern on one cheek and arm. At the factory gate, some American employees, including Jake, shared with me the strong sense of belonging they found in Fuyao.

Jake used to work in a paper mill in Maureen. "I never want to go back there again. I like working in this China company very much." He said that it pays more here, but the working environment is safer and healthier than the previous paper mill. However, some employees still choose to leave. "Hey, man, I'm going back to work in a fast food restaurant, where at least the union guarantees it." One of Jake's colleagues greeted him when he left.

Photograph by Li Meiling, the smoking room in Fuyao American factory

This makes Jake unable to understand. "Why do you have to join a trade union?" He said. Inside the factory behind us, a fierce debate is going on: whether to join the trade union or not?

according to Rich Rankin, the local director of UAW, Fuyao Glass's starting salary is only about $11 per hour, but in April this year, Fuyao raised the hourly salary of all American employees by about $2.

Many American employees have heard that their hourly wages will increase by $2 after working in Fuyao for three months. They were angry and disappointed when they found that their wages had not risen, so they hoped to form a trade union to negotiate. "Their salary expectations are too unrealistic." Jake said that his grandmother has worked in a local factory in the United States for more than ten years, with an hourly salary of $16. It is unreasonable for these young people to expect to get so much as soon as they join the company.

Photo by Li Meiling, the newly-built office building of Fuyao American factory

Traditionally, many American factories or employers will join trade unions. When there is a conflict between labor and capital, they will communicate through trade unions. Many American employees will feel unsafe and their interests cannot be guaranteed without trade unions.

"no, no,no." On July 21, a person in charge of the local government in Moraine shook his head in his office and said to me, "This is an outdated tradition, and the influence of UAW is far less than it was decades ago." Today, there are far fewer enterprises joining trade unions than before. Even in Ohio, not every company has joined trade unions. Not all Japanese companies and other China companies that set up factories in the local area have joined the trade unions.

Jake watched anxiously as a large number of new employees who participated in the training walked out of the factory behind him. With the addition of new employees, Jake heard that more and more people in the factory were beginning to discuss joining the trade union.

Jake doesn't want Fuyao to join the union. Trade unions protect those who are lazy or unable to complete their tasks, which is not good for Fuyao. Fuyao is a new factory, which is still in the early stage of investment and has not made any money. Jake doesn't want the trade union to drag down the company.

"I don't want to talk about higher wages at all. My salary now is higher than the local average wage. On the contrary, I hope this company can continue to develop so that I can keep this good and stable job for the next few years. " Jake said.

During two years working in Fuyao, Jake is familiar with two China employees, namely Ming and Lao Wang. Ming doesn't speak English very well, but he is a technical director. He teaches several American employees at the same time, and communicates mainly by gesturing. "Oh my God! This man is an Asshole! Isn't it? " Jake heard other American employees complain to him about Ming's rude attitude. "But I can understand that the same job content has to be taught many times, and Americans still can't learn it. Everyone's attitude is inevitably a little impatient." Jake said.

Many former employees complained about Fuyao's corporate culture on the Internet: "Their policies change every day, which makes people feel at a loss ... They say it's a big family, but in fact they treat employees like garbage. Stay away from Fuyao. "

"There is a lot of internal politics in the company. I just went to HR to ask for a shift change, which caused a lot of trouble ..." "This is the worst place to work. Many China employees don't speak a word of English, so they have no reason to dismiss them."

"Fuyao's corporate culture is very poor, and the technicians from China are very rude. I have never seen anyone so overbearing ..."

"They fired the American management just to make way for the China management, while the China management didn't give American employees any chance at all. If you are not from China, there is no possibility of promotion in the company. I hope this terrible place will join the trade union quickly. "

"When my husband used to work here, he had a lot of troubles in salary and insurance. He called to ask about human resources, but no one answered the phone half the time ... and there were communication problems, and the promised benefits were never fulfilled. There is still much room for improvement in this company."

But in Jake's eyes, China employees are smart and diligent, and they learn quickly, while some American employees learn slowly, unable to meet the job requirements and complete their own work. To this end, the company has set up a five-point assessment scoring system, and the supervisor will score according to the quality and efficiency of the work. But for American employees who can't complete their tasks, Fuyao's managers will turn a blind eye, and don't want to cause labor conflicts or dismiss employees.

photo taken by Li Meiling, factory building of Fuyao USA

This makes Jake feel a little uncomfortable. With the same salary, some people are dragging their feet, but they always finish their work on time.

several employees in China confirmed this situation. A few years ago, when China technicians first arrived at the factory to guide American employees, they could feel uncomfortable eyes. "You, a China native, must be uncomfortable to go to other countries and point fingers at them," said Zhang Qing, a technician transferred from Fuqing factory in China Fuyao headquarters. But when American workers saw that China employees actually finished a day's work in one hour, they couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"It's too difficult to teach." Zhang Qing said that some American employees are willing to learn, while others are unwilling to learn. After several times of teaching, they still shook their heads and said that they could not learn. "In this case, we will avoid direct conflict with them, just politely let the supervisor take it away and arrange other jobs for them." Zhang Qing said.

The salary systems of Chinese and foreign employees are also different. American employees are paid by the hour, while China employees still earn thousands of RMB per month in China, plus a daily meal allowance of $51, which is lower than that of American employees on the whole.

But China employees work much and fast.

Photo by Li Meiling in the lobby of Fuyao American factory

Zhang Qing will come to Maureen's factory for several months on business every few months. "Usually, foreign workers can't handle the work, and China employees will work overtime on weekends to make up for it," he said. "We are here to clean up the mess."

"The pace of work is completely different." Another China employee transferred from Tianjin said that workers in China like to get the job done with all one's strength, while Americans have a loose pace of work, such as chatting, having afternoon tea, brushing Facebook and making a phone call. However, companies generally don't fire people immediately. The employees who were fired before didn't come to work at all because of their serious absenteeism.

But Fuyao will continue to hire more American employees.

According to a staff member of Maureen Municipal Government who was involved in the acquisition negotiation of Fuyao Factory at that time, according to the agreement between the two parties, Cao Dewang promised to hire at least 1,511 American employees, while Maureen Municipal Government promised to pay Fuyao $211,111 a year from the third year, that is, from October this year, and at least $1 million to $1.8 million for five years. The more employees are hired, the higher the compensation will be. The Ohio government promised to employ more than 1,511 local employees in the United States and compensate Fuyao at least $13 million to $15 million within five years. Similarly, the more employees, the higher the compensation amount.

"If the number of employees remains at the current level or higher, the combined subsidy from the government of Moran and Ohio can reach $25 million." The person in charge said.

in addition, the Maureen municipal government also exempted Fuyao from the property tax on new office buildings and other facilities in 2115, and this policy has benefited Fuyao at least $8 million so far. These two preferential policies add up to more than $31 million. Cao Dewang also confirmed this figure in an interview with foreign media: "I spent $15 million on buying this factory and $15 million on renovation. The local government subsidized me more than $31 million through various channels, so I basically didn't spend money on buying the factory." Cao said.

In p>2113, Fuyao was looking for an investment project of more than 81 acres in several states in the United States, and Cao Dewang contacted five states at the same time: Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Michigan. Finally, the Ohio government said, "Hey, we have a huge abandoned factory of General Motors with hundreds of acres. Would you like to come and see it?"

"Cao is an expert negotiator." The person in charge recalled. Although Cao Dewang can't speak English, he was the first to realize that hiring local employees can bring huge potential benefits. He has done a lot of research before, and he is very decisive and quick when making decisions. "Very visionary and adventurous." The person in charge said that Cao Dewang foresaw that building a factory in the United States would satisfy the North American market. The best way is to build a factory in the United States, where production costs, including transportation costs, are lower, and there are more people in Ohio who need to work.

In addition to the above-mentioned preferential policies such as economic compensation and tax reduction and exemption, Sinclair Community College in Dayton has also helped Fuyao's human resources department to establish a salary system for American employees and train new employees. This free assistance is also valuable. In addition, Fuyao's neighbor, Dmax, a Japanese company, also helped Fuyao get familiar with and establish the welfare compensation system for American employees.

Fuyao is not only Maureen's largest investment project, but also one of the largest investment projects in the United States in recent years, and the preferential strength it can get is naturally different.

at present, Fuyao has invested at least 711 million US dollars to introduce machines, equipment and raw materials for glass production, and established at least 24 production lines, but not all of them have been put into production.

For the Maureen city government, the 2,111 American workers employed by Fuyao contributed 2.5% of their income to the local government, which is of great significance for maintaining and investing in the local public facilities that have been in disrepair for a long time. In addition, these 2,111 workers have made remarkable contributions to Maureen and Dayton's economy, such as catering and other industries.

"When GM left in 2119, the local government lost 51% of its tax revenue, which made us in a very difficult situation in recent years. General Motors employed 4,211 employees at that time. " The person in charge said.

For Fuyao, Maureen's factory is obviously closer to its American suppliers and customers, and the transportation cost is lower. Fuyao Glass entered the American market as early as 1995.

Fuyao's annual sales in the US market is nearly 411 million US dollars, and it is a supplier of well-known American car companies such as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Caterpillar. In July, 2114, Fuyao established Fuyao American Illinois Co., Ltd. to acquire Mt.Zion factory of PPG, a world automobile glass giant, including land, workshop and two float glass production lines. In addition, Fuyao Group has an accessory assembly plant and a product design center in Michigan, USA, and has set up sales departments in several states.

Cao Dewang, who is 71 years old, comes to the factory in Ohio once every two months by his private jet, and this year he comes more frequently than last year. In the 2116 Forbes list of billionaires in the world, Cao Dewang ranked 1198th with a net worth of $1.74 billion.

A China employee pointed to a black car parked in front of Fuyao's glass-red office building and told the interface journalist that it was the chairman's car. The day before, the first China-US Entrepreneur Summit, convened by Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba's Board of Directors, ended in Washington. Cao Dewang attended the summit.

Earlier, many American media reported that Fuyao was sued by former employees for safety problems and management loopholes in the production environment. In a recent interview with the media, Cao Dewang said that these media reports were "untrue" and accused the other party of not coming to the factory to interview their executives.