Ex-Workers Detail Harsh Conditions at Chinese-Owned Ohio Factory to Rep. Ro Khanna

Former employees of Fuyao Glass America Inc., a Chinese-linked glass manufacturer, recounted experiences of poor working conditions, alleged union-busting, and a lack of safety oversight to U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. Khanna, the ranking member on the House Select Subcommittee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), convened a roundtable with former workers as part of his committee's congressional oversight.

Tiffany Moore, who identified herself as a three-year veteran of the Fuyao factory, described the working environment as "unbearable" due to the heat. "They don’t care," she stated during the roundtable held at the International Union of Electrical Workers.

Khanna had previously sent a letter to Fuyao Glass America requesting information on wage suppression, worker conditions, and alleged violations of U.S. immigration and labor laws. The congressman noted that the company's response was insufficient.

"Fuyao Glass America Inc. (FGA) has only provided a single supposed reply letter, dated September 23, that answers virtually none of the Committee’s questions in a material way and fails to include any document submissions," Khanna wrote in an earlier letter to the company. "Thus far, a generous interpretation of your approach toward this investigation would be that Fuyao does not appreciate Congress’s oversight function and the American system of government."

He added, "A less generous interpretation of your lack of transparency would be that your companies have something to hide, beyond even what multiple federal investigations, documentaries, and press reports about Fuyao’s conduct have already uncovered."

Despite requesting permission to visit the Fuyao factory in Lorraine, Ohio, Khanna did not receive an explicit invitation. Instead, he held the roundtable with former employees.

Demetria Hodges, another former employee who worked at Fuyao for five years, claimed the company employed tactics to discourage unionization. "First they were trying to use scare tactics to get us to not vote for the union," Hodges said. She also mentioned a $2 an hour pay raise offered approximately 10 years prior, which she said was never repeated.

One former employee, who identified himself as Darrell, highlighted concerns about workplace safety, particularly after a fatal industrial accident at the plant. Darrell stated that workers were made to continue their shifts the day after a colleague, identified as 57-year-old Ricky Patterson, died in an accident involving glass. "When that guy got smashed by … glass, we had to work the next day, we were stressed out," Darrell recounted.