Quote:
Originally Posted by trip
South Carolina is becoming a large player in the A/C manufacturing business, largely in part to their non-union workforce.
Yes, probably cheaper for Japanese to build aircraft in the deep South.
For anybody who didn't know, cost of living is insane in Japan, so salaries for good workers are correspondingly high. Our southern boys can live comfortably on $35K and still do a good job...that could mighty enticing to a Japanese company (philosophically and culturally they would hate the idea, but there's a lot of money on the table).
It's not really a union thing down there...it's more about an underutilized and eager pool of potential workers (just like any other offshoring destination). The local governments just sweetened the pot with right-to-work to make it more palatable for large companies to invest in large capital-intensive facilities without having to worry about their business plans being upset by union demands in the near-term.