General Motors has announced that it will quit its joint venture auto manufacturing plant, operated with Toyota, leaving the unionized facility's future in Toyota's hands. Toyota already sells 80% of the products built there, but the workforce is organized by the UAW, so if Toyota were to keep the facility open under its own management, it would find itself sitting across the bargaining table from the very union that seeks to organize its other plants in North America.New United Motor Manufacturing Company (NUMMI - pronounced "new me") is the sole remaining automobile manufacturing facility on the West Coast, and its closure would idle almost 5000 assembly workers, plus an estimated 35,000 related jobs in support functions. Roughly a decade ago, a spokesman for the Port of Oakland told me that 10% of the port's cargo was related to NUMMI, which imports many components from Japan and sources globally for materials such as steel, so the 35,000 figure may be quite realistic....(Read Full Post)