American Factory

American Factory

In 2008, the economy was in bad shape and many businesses were forced to close their doors. Such was the fate of a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio. Documentary filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar were there as the factory shut down; they filmed outside the plant and interviewed workers who had been laid off, and gave some of them small cameras with which to record footage of the last cars coming off the assembly line (the resulting short, \”The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant\” [2009] was nominated for an Oscar).

But it turned out that wasn’t quite the end of the story for that plant a few years later it was purchased and reopened in an effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the area again. It sounds like a happy ending but, as Bognar’s and Reichert’s new film, “American Factory,” makes clear in its own quietly devastating way, that is not quite what happened.

In 2014, Cao Dewang known by his employees at Fuyao Glass America as Chairman Cao bought the plant. He is a Chinese billionaire whose automobile glass-making company is one of China’s largest suppliers; he chose to open Fuyao’s first U.S. factory at this Dayton site. According to Cao’s plan, up to 2,000 Americans would be hired and work alongside about 200 Chinese employees brought over from China as trainers; these trainers would then return home when their jobs were finished.

Cao talks about how he hopes to change how Americans view Chinese people; he says he wants Americans and Chinese people working side by side here in harmony: “Is this really possible?” Also: To bridge this gap between cultures or how he perceives it anyway we see newly arrived Chinese workers playing games designed to help teach them American ways of interacting with each other; they seem surprised, for example, to learn that Americans are allowed to dress more casually and even joke aloud about their president.

As for the Americans some of whom used to work at GM a few may remain skeptical but most are willing to overlook this in exchange for a paycheck that comes every week (even if it’s only half as much money as they used to make at GM).

And at first, it looks like everything might be OK: Preconceived notions on both sides start to fall away; each sees something to admire in the other. But there are inherent differences between Chinese and American attitudes toward work that cannot simply be wished away. What worked in China was this: Fuyao is successful because Dewang treats his employees less like people than like cogs in an elaborate machine; overtime is not optional but required; weekends, too; safety regulations and protocols are not exactly followed.

Dewang tries sending some American managers over there so they can see how the system works, but when those managers return and try implementing what they’ve seen well, it doesn’t go over great. As he grows frustrated with the plant’s falling numbers, Dewang threatens to close up shop if workers vote to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) which, of course, only makes them more likely to do so; eventually they will.

In their past films, Bognar and Reichert have used a more restrained approach to the material that allows it to reveal itself without telling you how to feel. Still, the first half can feel a little soft at times; some scenes play like an episode of “The Office” spinoff set in a factory, others almost seem designed to show everyone in the best possible light.

But once it moves from the culture clash dynamic to the fight over an upcoming vote on unionization with Cao paying “consultants” over a million dollars to lecture workers at length about the evils of unions and then telling them “you have a voice” it considerably toughens up as it shows how pro-union workers are being targeted by management for speaking out. The specific story that “American Factory” tells may not be a happy one for many, but it is an inspiring testament to this country’s labor movement and how even as the face of industry changes irrevocably, it remains as important as ever.

Being the first film released by Higher Ground the production company formed by Barack and Michelle Obama that signed a highly publicized deal with Netflix “American Factory” will undoubtedly find itself being seen by far more people than usually seek out documentaries about contemporary industrial relations. It is both timeless and very much of its time in terms of serving as a snapshot of the battle between labor and management.

Even more surprisingly, given its subject matter, it does so in often entertaining fashion; one can almost picture Bogna and Reichert returning to this plant again in another few years for part three in their trilogy. Then again, perhaps not given what we see happening near end here vis-a-vis immediate future implications.

Watch American Factory For Free On Gomovies.