Group seeks unionization at Giti Tire's South Carolina plant

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A coalition including state representatives, pastors and union leaders is asking a tire manufacturer to improve conditions at its South Carolina production facilities, including allowing workers to unionize.

Tuesday, a group describing itself as “concerned community members, human rights advocates, clergy, elected officials, political activists, labor union leaders, and educators who are committed to raising standards” planned to deliver a letter to Phang Wai Yeen, CEO of Giti Tire Manufacturing Ltd., according to a copy of the document provided in advance to The Associated Press.

“Workers have reported mandatory overtime, unpredictable schedules, low wages and the inability to have time off to spend with their family without retaliation,” according to the letter.

In 2014, Giti officials announced to much fanfare that they would build the Singapore-based company's first U.S. plant in Richburg, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Columbia, starting production three years later, expecting to make several million tires a year when fully operational. The announcement was the culmination of an effort to make South Carolina the nation’s chief tire manufacturer, with other tire makers in the state including Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental and Trelleborg.

The company was central to a 2019 lawsuit by Democratic state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, who said he wanted to force state Commerce Department officials to reveal details of taxpayer-funded incentives intended to lure businesses, including Giti, to the state. Last year, a judge ruled the Commerce Department had violated the state open-records law by keeping from the public details about millions of dollars in state grants and corporate tax incentives.

The Commerce Department has appealed that order,...