Description: "America's Other Automakers provides an interpretive history of foreign-owned automotive plants in mostly Southern states. The transplant industry's growth occurred in waves; the Japanese arrived first in the 1980s, followed by luxury German car-makers in the 1990s, and Korean manufacturers after 2000s. Choosing early examples from each wave, America's Other Automakers looks at foundational factories that paved the way for other automakers, especially from the same country, to follow. Through an archive of articles, statements issued by local government officials, failure of unionizing efforts, reports of discriminatory hiring and other primary sources, Minchin critically engages seven case studies of seven large assembly facilities and their impact on the communities they were built in"--
Brief description:
TIMOTHY J. MINCHIN is professor of history at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of numerous books, including Labor under Fire: A History of the AFL-CIO since 1970, Empty Mills: The Fight against Imports and the Decline of the U.S. Textile Industry, and, with Robert H. Zieger and Gilbert J. Gall, American Workers, American Unions. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Contemporary History, Labor History, and the Australasian Journal of American Studies, among others.
Review Quotes:
The auto industry remains prestigious enough that winning the factory sweepstakes remains big news and a hopeful sign of a prosperous future. It remains to be seen how the transplant story will play out, however, and this book is a helpful and engaging foray into the topic.
--Daniel Clark "Labour/Le Travail"