S E PA R AT I N G
MYTH
FROM
FACT
You may have seen our name in the media during the past several months. We’ve been
on the receiving end of quite a few half-truths, inaccuracies and just plain falsehoods
spread by some who distort and mislead to suit their own agenda.
We’re Lear Corporation, owner and operator of Lear Selma, a manufacturing facility
at Craig Field Industrial Park and a global leader in automotive seating and electrical
distribution. Worldwide, we have over 130,000 employees at 235 plants in 34 countries.
Because we care about our good name and reputation, it’s time we set the record
straight on a few things. And we want to start by addressing two serious myths with
facts you should know about our Selma plant.
MYTH
FACT
The air in the Lear Selma plant is making workers sick.
The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
and others tested the air no less than seven times during the past
ten months. Not a single test found the air to be harmful.
Certain allegations reported by the media would lead you to believe the air in
our Selma plant is making our workers sick, due to high levels of a chemical used to
make auto seats, called TDI.
It’s simply not true.
But you don’t have to take our word for it.
OSHA has visited our plant, and conducted thorough tests of the air. Over a
seven-month period, a total of seven scientific tests for TDI were conducted by
OSHA and independent occupational health professionals.
Not one time was the level of TDI anywhere near the hazardous limit.
We care about our employees, and we are committed to providing them with a
safe working environment.
MYTH
FACT
Lear Selma doesn’t pay competitive wages.
Our pay scale is comparable to other manufacturers in the area,
and in fact more than a unionized plant across town.
Some allegations you may have read in media stories by those who seek to distort
the truth make it sound like Lear doesn’t pay its workers competitive wages.
That too is false.
Lear’s veteran hourly employees in Selma make $12 an hour. That’s more than
workers make right across town at a unionized plant. And it’s roughly in the
middle of hourly wages in our community.
Plus one hundred percent of our workers receive an extensive package of benefits,
including: BlueCross BlueShield health insurance, 401k matching, life insurance,
11 paid holidays, medical leave, sickness and accident pay, and incentive pay.
Some union organizers try to compare our wages to retailers like Walmart. But even
after the newly announced raise at Walmart, our employees will be making 33%
more than Walmart workers recently raised to $9 per hour. And our wages at Lear
Selma are more than 66% above minimum wage.
Lear Corporation is a caring company, actively supporting the communities in which
we do business. As with our recent sponsorship of the 50th/150th Celebration, we
look for opportunities to help promote Selma and make it an even better place to live
and work.
Thank you for letting us set the record straight on these important issues. In the future,
we'll be doing more to help you separate myth from fact.
To learn more, visit LearSelmaFacts.com