Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Viasystems Closes Richmond, Va., Circuit Board Plant: 'A Betrayal of Workers and the Richmond Commun
Pete Catucci, vice president of the Communications Workers of America for the mid-Atlantic region, issued the following statement on the announcement by Viasystems Group Inc. that it is shutting down its Richmond, Va., facility and moving the operation to China:
In 1996, Viasystems Group Inc. bought this plant from Lucent Technologies and since then, has expanded its operations to some 34 plants in nine countries, in which workers build circuit boards and other electronic components for major customers in telecommunications, networking and other industries. At that time, some 1,800 employees made sacrifices in wages and retirement income to keep their jobs, make the company profitable and invest in their future.
Unfortunately, the workers who helped build Viasystems won't be sharing in its success. In today's layoff announcement, the third this year, Viasystems pulled the plug on the remaining 900 jobs at the plant.
Viasystems said it was moving the circuit board manufacturing to China, where a system of forced labor and government control translates into an hourly wage of just $1.66. Workers at the Richmond plant, largely minority workers, earned an average wage of about $18 an hour; these wages enabled them to support their families, participate in their communities and contribute to the local economy.
To Viasystems, wages at the Richmond plant are "not competitive" and justify the move to China, where human and labor rights are routinely violated while multi-national corporations look the other way. To workers at Viasystems, members of CWA Local 2260, and to the entire Richmond community, this is a sad betrayal.
This plant has been a mainstay of the Richmond economy since the early 1970s, starting out as a Western Electric Co. plant, and always providing good, quality jobs and wages for Richmond workers.
Viasystems is an enormously successful company, posting record earnings at the end of last year. In light of the company's success, this shutdown is unconscionable. Not only is Viasystems destroying quality American jobs but it is supporting sweatshop conditions in a country that has a very poor record of workers' rights and human rights overall.
Members of Congress soon will have the opportunity to vote on whether to grant full trade status to China. We'll make sure that our representatives in Richmond – and throughout the nation – know what this vote really means.
###
In 1996, Viasystems Group Inc. bought this plant from Lucent Technologies and since then, has expanded its operations to some 34 plants in nine countries, in which workers build circuit boards and other electronic components for major customers in telecommunications, networking and other industries. At that time, some 1,800 employees made sacrifices in wages and retirement income to keep their jobs, make the company profitable and invest in their future.
Unfortunately, the workers who helped build Viasystems won't be sharing in its success. In today's layoff announcement, the third this year, Viasystems pulled the plug on the remaining 900 jobs at the plant.
Viasystems said it was moving the circuit board manufacturing to China, where a system of forced labor and government control translates into an hourly wage of just $1.66. Workers at the Richmond plant, largely minority workers, earned an average wage of about $18 an hour; these wages enabled them to support their families, participate in their communities and contribute to the local economy.
To Viasystems, wages at the Richmond plant are "not competitive" and justify the move to China, where human and labor rights are routinely violated while multi-national corporations look the other way. To workers at Viasystems, members of CWA Local 2260, and to the entire Richmond community, this is a sad betrayal.
This plant has been a mainstay of the Richmond economy since the early 1970s, starting out as a Western Electric Co. plant, and always providing good, quality jobs and wages for Richmond workers.
Viasystems is an enormously successful company, posting record earnings at the end of last year. In light of the company's success, this shutdown is unconscionable. Not only is Viasystems destroying quality American jobs but it is supporting sweatshop conditions in a country that has a very poor record of workers' rights and human rights overall.
Members of Congress soon will have the opportunity to vote on whether to grant full trade status to China. We'll make sure that our representatives in Richmond – and throughout the nation – know what this vote really means.
###