The gap between white and blue collars
The American Factory has unveiled some of the prevalent workplace issues that many do not recognize or simply disregard — Cultural differences. Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. is a Chinese glass manufacturing company. In the attempt of Fuyao Glass’ chairman, Chairman Cao, to contribute to the USA’s foreign investments, he ended up being the enemy of the workers in the very workplace he built during FGA’s combat against United Auto Workers or UAW
Fuyao Glass America has employed over 2,000 labor workers which consist of both Chinese and Americans. Although the two nationalities managed to work together, the Americans had issues with how things were being run by the Chinese entrepreneur.
In American Factory, I was able to come up with a comparison between the American and the Chinese labor workers. These differences were based on what the film showed, specifically the FGA’s employees’ trip to China, which I believe contributed massively in the attempt to give a solution to the issue that Chairman Cao faced.
Chinese Fuhao Glass workers: Output-based and goal-oriented | Quality-oriented | Non-stop working | Purpose-driven: Make glass and produce expected output | Patient | United | Well organized and uniformed | Energetic | Pro-workers and pro-employers | Simple living | Value respect for the workplace, the job, the company, and have trust in the employer | Mindset is to be worthy of the salary | Passionate with work
American FGA workers: Work depends on the quality of the environment and how comfortable the workplace is | Workplace is very lenient | Purpose is to create livelihood | Culture is divided | Workers and workplace lacks unity and organization | Workers are confident and comfortable
Chairman Cao’s initial goal was to incorporate the work culture in Fuhao China to Fuhao Glass America. It was truly admirable when the film showed how we wanted to make sure that the plant adjusted very well to the American environment. However, Chairman Cao failed to understand that the USA and China being first and second world countries will not be enough to compensate for the evident cultural differences in the company.
It was not until the trip to China when the American FGA managers saw how apart America truly is from China when it comes to working ethic and values. The American FGA managers made an effort to implement some strategies based on their trip to China such as conducting pre-shift meetings. These efforts did not work.
Cultural differences are challenging to defeat as this would mean disregard for values, ethics, and morals. The American workers have their own values, morals, and ethics, similar to the Chinese who also have their own.
What I learned in the American Factory is that even though both the Americans and Chinese have a purpose, it’s their purpose that sets them apart. While the purpose of the Chinese workers is to create glass for the company, the purpose of the American workers is to earn so they could build a livelihood for themselves which is not wrong. However, it is very important to enter a job you are passionate about as underlying issues will prevail by entering an industry you have zero interest in. However, it should not be forgotten that labor workers almost have zero choices when it comes to getting jobs. Labor workers tend to accept whatever job they are offered as their lack of degree hinders them from getting a profession they truly desire.
The most important realization I was able to encapsulate upon watching the documentary is that I am privileged to be able to afford prestigious education and be able to build a career path based on my own desires. The issue presented in the documentary is actually also an issue even in Philippine workplaces wherein labor workers have no choice but to work so they could earn. While some of us are lucky enough to apply for several companies after college, blue-collar job workers rarely get opportunities at all to escape unemployment.
