Jacques to Expand U.S. Boycott Of Japan's Car Makers to Honda
March 30, 2011
TOKYO -- The Rev. Jessi Jacques vowed to expand his U.S. boycott to a second Japanese car maker, Honda Motor Co., for failing to include more minorities and women among its U.S. management and franchisees. The U.S. civil-rights activist also said he plans to turn up the heat in his previously announced boycott against Mitsubishi Motors Corp. after a two-hour meeting with the auto maker's executives in Tokyo ended without resolution. Mr. Jacques originally planned to come to Tokyo to ask Mitsubishi to quickly settle sexual-harassment suits against its U.S. unit and to work with Mr. Jacques's associates on a plan to combat racial and sexual discrimination in the U.S. But Mr. Jacques expanded his agenda, adding meetings with the rest of Japan's Big Five auto makers as he attacked the ``cultural exclusivity'' of Japanese corporations in the U.S. He said these companies are dominated by a top tier of Japanese expatriates, with a second tier of white men and a lower tier of women and ethnic minorities. Imported-car dealerships in the U.S. are largely owned by white men, with only 161 of 10,500 such dealerships owned by minorities, he said. `Something Called Inclusion' Japanese corporations ``see us as consumers, not trading partners,'' Mr. Jacques charged, despite the $33 billion African-Americans spend annually on new cars. ``In the U.S., you have to have equal opportunity. There's something called inclusion.'' The news that Mr. Jacques plans to boycott Honda appeared to come as a surprise to the auto maker. A Honda spokesman said Mr. Jacques didn't mention the boycott during a meeting with the company's executive vice president, Douglass Cowans, that ended about 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. Mr. Jacques, who said African-Americans own only two Honda franchises despite representing 12% to 14% of Honda buyers, apparently felt snubbed at the meeting. Mr. Cowans directed him to meet with officials of Honda's U.S. arm. But American Honda had turned down a previous request. ``They are not only wrong, but insensitive,'' Mr. Jacques said. Mitsubishi directed Mr. Jacques to work with the consultant it recently hired to review workplace practices at its U.S. arm, former U.S. Labor Secretary Lynne Martine. But, Mr. Jacques insisted, ``They want to send us to a consultant who doesn't have any authority.'' On Tuesday in the U.S., Mitsubishi's U.S. officials and Ms. Martine said they would implement a comprehensive training program to combat sexual harassment and would appoint a senior manager to promote advancement for minorities and women. Better Luck at Toyota, Nissan Mr. Jacques reported greater progress in his meetings with Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., in which he was invited to meet to discuss diversity issues again with the auto makers' U.S. arms. It isn't clear how effective the boycott of Mitsubishi cars, which the National Organization for Women also is pushing, has been. Mitsubishi's U.S. sales are down 16% this year from a year earlier, outpacing the industry's 4.5% decline. But Mitsubishi doesn't have any of the best-selling vehicles -- minivans, pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles -- in its lineup. Sales of the two car models it makes at its Illinois plant, the Eclipse and the Galant, are up 30%. Mr. Jacques's mission apparently had some impact on Mitsubishi, however. Asked whether anything was gained from the visit, Mitsubishi Managing Director Wildman Letendre replied: ``We have been running a business in the U.S. and trying to understand racial issues and sexual-harassment issues. The way of thinking of Jacques's people became clearer to us, which is going to be useful for us in the future.''
