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Chinese Manufacturer Buys RCAs October 12, 2004 Theres the Coca Cola symbol and McDonalds golden arches. Theres the Levi-Strauss patch and the flags on the hood of the Chevrolet Corvette. And, then, theres the little dog, sitting in front of a primitive phonograph with one ear tilted to hear music emanating from a golden horn. The terrier, named Nipper, the icon of RCA is one of the most recognized of all U.S. corporate symbols, gathering dust in antique shops from coast to coast, traded on E-Bay, still on the shelves at todays big box electronics stores. For thousands of former IBEW-represented workers at RCA plants that produced TVs and radios, Nipper once meant stability and security, a house, a car, a vacation, a college education for the children. Today, Nipper, originally a British artwork entitled, "His Masters Voice" is a symbol of instability, a sign of the outsourcing of American labor and ingenuity. First, Thomson Inc., a French-owned company bought RCA and Nipper. Thomson employed thousands of IBEW members in Indiana and Ohio, making TV glass and tubes, until the corporation shut the plants down earlier this year (See "IBEW Members at Thomson Face Shutdown of TV Tube and Glass Plants, IBEW Journal, May 2004). In July 2004, on the heel of the shutdowns, Thomson concluded a merger agreement with TCL, the second largest electronics company in China. Nipper is now on a Chinese leash. Fortune Magazine conducted an interview with Li Donsheng, chairman of TCL, in an article on the Thomson-TCL merger, for the February 9, 2004 issue. The reporter asked him what his plans were for Nipper. According to Fortune, Li Donsheng was puzzled. He "cocked his own ear" and said, "Nipper? Whos Nipper?" Li Donshengs response indicates that its probably too early to say whether the Chinese will ever grow to know Nipper as Americans did. TCL employs over 40,000 that includes workers in places like Vietnam and the Phillipines. As China steps up the race to find even cheaper labor less than the 61 cents-per-hour at home to produce electronic items, the little terrier could be on the road for quite a while. The U.S. trade deficit with China stands at over $83 billion. U.S. manufacturing is at its lowest level in 45 years. If our nation continues on this road, the only factories left will be industrial museums where our grandchildren pay to see what used to be when workers crowded through the front gates of plants topped off by an attentive dog, appreciating a high quality American-made product.
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China's Workers --
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