The NUMMI Plant at Fremont,Ca. produces the Toyota Tacoma,and also the GM Saturn.Would you like these upper management Faking it when it produces your vehicle ?? I don't think so ! =B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0= =B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0=B0 By Robert Airoldi, STAFF WRITER
FREMONT -- Standing across the street from NUMMI on Friday afternoon, Green Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo criticized Gov. Gray Davis for giving the successful corporation $6.4 million while the state is in a fiscal crisis. "We're cutting from schools and other services and giving money to wealthy corporations," Camejo said. "That's not for taxpayers to pay." He also charged that NUMMI is misspending the money. But NUMMI spokeswo- man Rhonda Rigenhagen said that the $6.4 million is not taxpayer money and that it is not being misspent.
"It's money that comes from taxes (that) corporations pay," she said. "A certain percentage is then used for employee training to keep California businesses competitive and keep them from moving outside the state."
The company is launching a new model Tacoma in September 2004 that will require more than 400,000 hours of employee training, Rigenhagen said. The training began about two months ago. The company also received $1.6 million last year to train workers on three new car models released this year.
But Caroline Lund, who works in the plastics unit, said the firm is asking her and others to sign forms stating they were trained when in fact they were not.
"I can testify that a lot of that time was not training at all," said Lund, who refused to sign the forms. "It was simply us doing our jobs on the old model."
But Rigenhagen responded: "She disagrees. But it's very clear with the manager of our training department and her supervisor that the training complied with the terms of the grant." Lund said NUMMI workers are chagrined that their company is taking money at a time when the state is suffering.
"People in there know that the plant is doing very well," Lund said. "To take those millions when our schools are crumbling and the state faces a $38 billion deficit ... people in the plant know we need big changes."
Lund also said Davis had been scheduled to visit NUMMI March 13 to announce the grant, but when his advance team walked through the plant, they were greeted with loud booing and hash questions, so Davis canceled his appearance, Lund said. Camejo promised changes in the system, if elected. "I would start an audit and every case I found like this, I'd ask the company to return the money with interest (but) keep the program," Camejo said. "The people's tax money needs to be respected."
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