1: #Sumitomo Osaka Cement
Yokohama Branch Station#
2: #This is Nobukazu Kaikura
He’s 36
3: #He’s done transport work
since graduating high school
4: #He’s hauled flour, concrete,
and even driven dump trucks
5: #Now, he transports cement
6: #He’s had this job for seven years
7: #No messin’ around#
8: I’m not messin’ around
9: Just about to hit the road
10: #Alright, take care,
you salary thief#
11: Did you just call me
a salary thief?
12: #You heard me#
13: I’m no thief
14: #Sure you are#
15: Start making money yourself
1:1B On the radio with a former co-worker
16: #I would if I could!#
17: Can’t find work, huh?
18: #Yeah, you took all my work#
19: Don’t blame me
20: #It’s all your fault#
21: I’ve got nothing to do
22: with other companies
23: #Sure you do#
24: How so?
25: #We’re all on the same tree#
26: In the same industry, you mean
27: #Right#
28: What can I do?
The companies are all corrupt
29: #Why should we suffer for it?
Help me out, buddy!#
30: Tell that to the bosses
31: #I would if I could#
32: I know what you mean
33: #Kaikura always loved
cars and motorcycles
34: #After high school, he passed
on a prospective job
35: #and became a driver at
his father’s workplace#
36: I doubt I could ever
handle a normal job
37: A normal job?
38: Like wearing a suit,
commuting on a train
39: Why not?
40: Can’t stand sitting in front
of a desk all day like that
41: - You’d rather move around?
- Exactly
42: I’d rather be driving,
which I enjoy
43: I get to go places
44: #In March 2004, a strike was
held at a cement company
2:2B #On Strike:
Rentai Union
45: #Kaikura received a flyer that day
46: #It said that any one individual
of any occupation can become a member
47: #He kept them in mind
over half a year,
48: #when his work situation
became unbearable#
49: Frankly, I hit rock bottom then
50: I’m only now returning to
a somewhat normal life
3:3B UNION A NORMAL LIFE, PLEASE
4:4B #Tokyo Station
51: #Cement is one of the raw
materials of concrete
52: #Indispensable to construction
and civil engineering,
53: #cement is essential to
modern civilization
54: #In the Tokyo metropolitan area,
construction sees no end
55: #Day and night, on weekdays and
on weekends, round-the-clock
5:5B #24 Hour Operation
56: #All this construction
requires concrete
57: #Thus, cement transporters
can barely rest
5:5B 1:00am
58: #On March 9, 2005
in Kanagawa prefecture,
59: #a cement truck was involved in
an accident, killing its driver
60: #Two passengers in the oncoming car
were also injured
61: #The truck driver, told he’d be
fired if he took a sick leave,
62: #had a high fever on
the day of the accident#
63: A friend radioed me
64: over on the private line
65: Said a truck got into some accident
66: and that the driver was killed
67: I was on the same project, I think
68: That was when I could barely go home
for an entire month
69: #Kaikura works for a company in Tokyo
called Touto Transport
70: #It carries 18 cement trucks,
and grew rapidly recently
71: #The growth came from a highly illegal
“All-Commissions System”
72: #With no overtime pay, they’re paid
only for the amount of cement carried
73: #According to Kaikura’s log book
for March 2005,
74: #he departed 3:40am
and returned at 2:46am
75: #Departed 3:00am,
returned 11:11pm
76: #Departed 11:25pm,
returned 5:00am,
77: #Departed 5:50am,
returned 4:16am
78: #Departed 4:25am,
returned 4:15pm
79: #Departed 9:00pm,
returned 1:33pm
80: #Departed 6:00am,
returned 3:18am...
81: #These hours continued
for 13 consecutive days
82: #He worked 552 hours and 34 minutes
during that month
83: #These hours far exceed
the safety standards
84: #set by the Ministry of
Health, Labor and Welfare
85: #There are 720 hours in a month
86: #If he worked 552 hours,
that leaves him only 168 hours
87: #That’s a mere 5.7 hours for himself,
including commute, eating and sleep
88: #Despite these hours, he only
received about 300,000 yen per month
89: #He received no social or employment
insurance, nor sick days
90: #Worse, his commission percentage was
lowered over two years
91: #from 42 percent to 40, 38, 36, 33,
92: #notified through one memo without
any discussion with the drivers
93: #The only reason given was that
the company was in the red#
94: The worst was when I was hardly
able to go home for a month
95: I was home maybe one or
two hours each evening
96: That’s all?
97: I’d take a bath, eat and head out,
over and over for a month
98: At first, I was just eager
to earn the money,
99: but by the end,
it just felt ridiculous
100: Not like we get night-shift rates
like their own shippers get
101: Their own shippers?
102: Fucox’s own shippers
103: Fucox employees?
104: Right, Fucox employees would need
to be paid insurance and stuff,
105: but with us subcontractors, they
only need to pay for the freight
106: No other costs to worry about
Sumitomo Osaka Cement
107: #The cement carried by Touto Transport
are Sumitomo Osaka Cement products
Fucox Corporation
108: #Fucox is the exclusive carrier
of Sumitomo Osaka Cement
109: #Touto is one of the subcontractors
carrying goods for Fucox
110: #All dispatch assignments
come directly from Fucox
111: #The average annual income for cement
truckers in the Tokyo metropolitan area
112: #was approximately 6 - 7 million yen
until about ten years ago
113: #However, after the government’s
deregulation policies since the ‘90s,
114: #the streamlining of
cement distribution,
115: #cut-throat competition
between contractors,
116: #and rising cost of fuel, outsourcing
to subcontractors has become common
117: #Kaikura sought help
from the Rentai Union
118: #It’s a labor union primarily
comprised of workers in...
119: #the transport industry carrying cement,
concrete and construction materials#
Daisuke Nakatsuka Rentai Union
120: He was clearly overworked
121: He was on the brink of
working himself to death
122: With those kinds of hours,
he barely had time to eat
123: He had to make do with
quick take-out food
124: And he was barely even home, so he
only bathed once every few days
125: So you could see his skin
didn’t look too healthy
126: It was the color of dirt
127: How does he compare with
other drivers who’ve come here?
128: Well, his work hours are
far beyond the norm,
129: much longer than any driver
I’ve ever spoken to
130: It’s funny, you know
131: Before the union, we thought
this was normal for our industry
132: You all thought that?
133: Yeah, that driving from late night
‘til the next evening was normal
134: When I joined the union, I realized
this wasn’t normal at all
135: - That you’re being abused
- Right
136: Why was this hard to realize?
137: Because everyone else
was doing the same thing
138: The other cement drivers?
139: Right, all the cement drivers were
were pulling the same late hours,
140: so we figured that starting in the
wee hours was how things were done
141: But when the boss told us we’re
switching from commissions...
142: to an amortization system,
I had to get the union involved
143: My back was against the wall
144: #The amortization system holds
the driver responsible for all costs,
145: #including vehicle lease, fuel,
insurance, and maintenance fees
146: #In March 2006, Kaikura notified his
company that he joined the union
147: #The company responded by bringing in
Mitsuo Kudo, a friend of the boss,
148: #to intimidate Kaikura everyday...
149: #that if the company folds, they’ll
hold him responsible with a damage suit
150: #Kaikura and Kudo visited
the union office together
7:7B March 19,2006
151: #UNION: Typically, our members
come by themselves, alone
152: #KUDO: Why?
153: #UNION: None of your business
154: #KUDO: Kaikura, go ahead
155: #KAIKURA: I’ve decided...
to withdraw from the union
156: #UNION: For what reason?
157: #KAIKURA: Basically, I have to take
into consideration the others...
158: #KUDO: Just say it
You owe it to them
159: #KAIKURA: I owe it to them
160: #That day, Kaikura submitted
his withdrawal notice
161: #However, he himself didn’t
wish to quit the union#
162: The boss offered to pay
a little stipend
163: if I’d quit the union
164: How much did he offer?
165: Um, 300,000 yen
166: Then within two or three days,
they asked for a resignation letter
8:8B April 8,2006
9:9B Touto Transport office
167: You created these, right?
168: Hey, cut it out!
169: Asshole
10:10B #Masahiro ohura
Touto Transport President
170: Get the hell out
171: Give it a rest, dammit!
172: Who the fuck are you?
173: We know everything
It’s too late
174: Fine, so you know what’s up
175: That’s why you’re here
176: What the fuck are you filming?
177: I said don’t touch him
178: Don’t touch him
179: Sir, explain to me
who this man is
11:11B: Mitsuo Kudo,
company “associate”
180: He doesn’t want to quit
the company or the union
181: He hasn’t said anything
182: You need to tell them you have
no intention of quitting either
183: Kudo, listen, he’ll say it himself
184: I have no intention of
quitting the union
185: So you as the president need
to ask Kudo to back off now
186: Tell him, “Thanks for your concern,
but this is a company matter,”
187: and the problem is solved
188: That’s your only choice
189: Fine
190: Great, so tell him
191: Hey Kudo, not much we can do...
Kudo, listen!
192: They’ve found out, or rather,
it’s come to this,
193: so all we can do as a company is
discuss it and work it out
194: That’s my thinking, got it?
195: So now, regarding this issue,
I need you to stay out,
196: especially since Kaikura...
197: said he has no intention
of quitting the union
198: I don’t care what you say,
I’m not backing down
199: I won’t back down
200: They asked me to sign this
resignation letter dated March 31,
201: which also states I won’t object
to anything during my tenure,
202: and then asks for my name,
address and seal
203: I didn’t have my seal on me,
so they said they’ll use the company’s
204: Use this opportunity to become a man
that can stand up to those threats
205: That’s what’s most important to you
It’s what being in the union is about
206: Being able to stand up to injustice
207: Being able to object to
unreasonable conditions
208: Now that you’re in the union,
you need to become a strong person
209: #The following day, April 9,
210: #amidst anxiety about his future,
Kaikura’s mother became ill
211: #She soon died
12:12B #Tae Kaikura
age 69
212: #From that day on, Kudo began to pay
daily visits to Kaikura’s home
213: #He was so relentless that
he even showed up at her funeral
13:13B #North Yokohama Funeral Hall
214: #Worse, he even brought his
henchmen to the funeral#
215: Have some decency
216: It’s a funeral, for Christ’s sake
217: Get ‘em
218: What the hell are you filming?
219: Come here, punk
220: Don’t touch me
221: What the hell
222: Cut it out
223: What’d you say to
our boss about me?
224: Don’t let them break the camera
225: Don’t touch me
226: I said cut it out
227: Need a lesson, kid?
228: Sure, teach me
229:
230: Think I’m afraid of
some stupid camera, huh?
231: Lose the fuckin’ glasses
232: Call the police
233: Help me!
234: Fine, call the cops
235: Help me! No physical violence!
236: Goddamn punk!
237: Hey, stop it!
238: Enough with the violence!
239: Hey, don’t touch him
240: Don’t touch him
241: I’m not touching him
242: Don’t surround him like that
243: That’s blatant intimidation
244: Remember what we talked about
yesterday? How about it?
245: I understand what you said
246: You know what’ll
happen here otherwise?
247: So tell these union folks
248: You just said yes, right?
249: You said yes, did you not?
250: Fine, I’ll talk to them
251: Wait, listen to me
252: Let’s break it up
253: You’re with the union?
254: I’m with the union,
and this is my mother’s funeral
255: They just barged in
It’s outrageous
256: What’re you taking statements for?
257: There’s nothing here, dammit
258: Go home!
14:14B #In the name of the company, Kudo and
his men assaulted three union men,
15:15B #who sustained injuries requiring
two weeks for recovery
16:16B #The police used the video footage
as evidence in arresting the men
17:17B #They were later prosecuted on
charges of assault and battery
18:18B Kaikura Residence
19:19B #Mitsuhiro Kaikura,
father#
259: No one with common sense
would do that
260: Any union activity and our funeral
are completely separate
261: It’s unforgivable that they’d
come to an occasion like that
262: #On June 14 2006,
263: #the union received a letter
from Touto Transport stating...
264: #that Mitsuo Kudo was hired as
the company’s human resources director
265: #Kaikura notified the company that
he will be striking in protest#
20:20B June 19,2006
Notification to strike
266: We’re asking them to remove
Kudo from his position
267: Otherwise, they’re clearly
unrepentant about everything
268: Why so many guys?
269: I don’t need orders from you
270: Meet the new HR director
271: Get your hands off me
272: So let’s just talk
273: He’s on strike until you’re gone,
so read it
274: Strike? Why?
275: How can a guy convicted of assault
be the HR director? It’s ridiculous
276: That doesn’t matter
277: Sure it does
You’re the problem
278: I apologize about Kaikura
279: What about the assault?
280: Who cares? It just happened
281: Just happened?
282: Do you understand the charges?
283: Couldn’t care less
21:21B: #Fucox Headquarters
284: #Despite knowledge of Touto’s
forceful actions against Kaikura,
285: #Fucox continued their dispatches,
keeping Touto as a subcontractor
286: #The union demanded that
Fucox take responsibility#
287: About the dispatches...
288: I don’t know about them
289: Then what’re you talking about?
290: Look, Fucox is...
291: We’re not talking to you
if you come in a big group
292: Let’s make arrangements first
293: Touto hired a violent man as
HR director to bust the union
294: What is Fucox doing about it?
295: I made an appointment, you know
296: Frankly, this is rude!
297: #On June 29 2006,
298: #Kaikura and others went to investigate
one of Sumitomo Osaka Cement’s plants
22:22B #Sumitomo Osaka Cement
Tochigi Plant#
299: Those all cement trucks?
300: Right, all of those
301: All lined up at this hour!
302: Not even 2am yet
303: The loading hours are
getting earlier since...
304: they can’t overload as much
305: 12.150 tons
306: #They found an illegal,
overloaded vehicle#
307: Look at it
How many tons is it?
308: Over the limit, no?
309: I don’t know
310: All you have to do
is read the number
311: Please, stop this
23:23B #This truck has a 14.20t load
despite its 12.15t limit
312: We’re asking...
313: the guy with the slip to check
314: The slip
315: It’s a 12.150, right?
316: How much are you carrying?
317: I don’t know
318: We’re gonna check
319: Fine, hurry
320: We’re checking now
321: So hold on
322:Unload the excess first
323: Sure, sure, thanks
324: Look, I really need to get going
325: I’ll go check
326: You don’t need to come
327: We need to check
328: - Then do it
- We’ll do it together
329: Weren’t you doing it?
330: Look, this isn’t personal
331: I know
332: The transport department
at the headquarters...
333: maintains a stance of
eliminating overloads
334: We’ve been trying to
keep this under the radar,
335: but there’s only so much
we can do on our end
336: So the HQ determines this?
337: In terms of distribution, yes
338: #The company indicated that their HQ
determines the load capacities
339: #The investigation revealed their
tacit approval of the overloading
340: #On July 11 2006, Kaikura suffered
a terrible pain in his stomach
341: #He was diagnosed with a hole in his
intestine, and underwent surgery
342: #He was also diagnosed with Crohn’s
disease, an incurable illness
343: #For three weeks, he was confined to
complete bed rest in the ICU#
344: Does it hurt?
345: Not at all
346: I get nutrition through
this tube in my stomach
347: Your stomach?
348: A bit below my stomach, really
349: Goes straight to my intestine
350: They said fatigue had a lot to do
with it, since I barely had rest
351: Frankly, the only thing
on my mind was money
352: I was just worried about
earning as much as possible
353: If I didn’t work, I didn’t earn,
so I couldn’t afford to rest
354: The more I rest,
the less I take home
355: I really wish I could live
a more normal life
356: Just a regular job, you know
357: Something more reasonable
24:24B #August 17, 2006
Collective Bargaining with Touto#
358: We’ll need to bring Kudo
into the negotiations
359: Look, he’s not a bad person,
set aside that one incident
360: And soon, he’s going to be
our main representative
361: Your company’s representative?
362: That’s right
25:25B #Fucox Headquarters#
363: What a nuisance
364: You’re that close to murdering him!
365: Wanna kill your workers?
366: Is profit all you care about?
367: Such a nuisance
368: As long as you profit,
you’re fine with people dying?
369: Wanna overwork ‘em to death?
370: Ever bothered to care?
371: How about it?
372: Did the boss send you here?
373: Shouldn’t you get back to work?
374: You’re obstructing pedestrian traffic
375:
376: Clear the sidewalk
377: It’s totally clear, see?
378: Don’t you have work to do?
379: Taking photos?
380: Why don’t you spend the time
solving the problem instead?
381: Am I wrong?
382: Solve the problem instead
Think about it
383: Hard to solve things
when you do this
384: #Fucox insisted they have no intention
of intervening in the Touto situation
385: #They avoided responsibility,
even defending Kudo’s actions
26:26B: #October 24, 2006
27:27B #Sumitomo Osaka Cement Headquarters#
28:28B Take Responsibility
29:29B No More Killing
386: Give it a rest
387: We’re pissed, you understand?
We’re here on his behalf
388: He’s still connected to tubes
389: Murderer!
390: Gimme a break
391: Murderer? That’s going too far
392: But people did die!
393: They really died
394: The Sanwa Sekisan driver died because
he was told he’d be fired if he rested
395: Ever said you won’t use
transporters like that?
396: He was carrying your cement
397: You tolerate illegal
companies like them?
398: What happened to compliance?
399: If they did those things against your
policies, then that’s different
400: We’ve always been in compliance
401: Yeah, right
Only after the union complains
402: Always have, always will
403: Since when?
404: Bring those slips
405: Proof of overloading
406: #The company insisted that it had no
capital ties with Fucox or Touto,
407: #and that it can only ask them to
comply with regulations as usual#
408: It should be flush on your end
409: Watch your back
410: Watch your back
411: Up it goes
412: #They’re paid only on commissions
413: #No overtime, no social or employment
insurance, no sick days...
414: #More and more workers find themselves
in these illegal conditions
30:30B #“Are Workers Slaves?:
The Cruelty of Sumitomo Osaka Cement”
415: #Hey Kudo, not much we can do...
Kudo, listen!
416: #They’ve found out, or rather,
it’s come to this,
417: #so all we can do as a company is
discuss it and work it out
418: #That’s my thinking, got it?
419: #So now, regarding this issue,
I need you to stay out,
420: #especially since Kaikura said...
31:31B #No more killing
421: #Enough with the violence!#
422: No need to hide
Go up for a good look
423: This is one of your
own subcontractors
424: You’re accomplice to this,
so watch closely
425: They’re trying to kill him
426: Get a good look
427: You’re the ones using
companies that do this
428: See how they’re threatening him?
Take a good look
429: They went to his mother’s funeral!
Is that not despicable?
430: Don’t hide there
Go up and get a good look!
431: They tried to barge into his home
on the very day she died!
432: They work for you!
433: They did this while his mother’s
being cremated! What would you do?
434: Say something
435: Take responsibility!
436: Stop the killing!
437: Stop the killing!
438: Don’t kill your workers!
439: Don’t kill, Sumitomo Osaka!
440: Don’t kill, Sumitomo Osaka!
32:32B The next day,Sumitomo Osaka Cement
promised to make a sincere effort…
33:33B to work towards a solution
with Touto and Fucox
441: Congrats on the discharge
442: Thanks
You’ve been so helpful
443: We screened your video yesterday
444: I’m embarrassed
445: Do you want to keep
working as a driver?
446: It’s probably about
the only thing I could do
447: I’m not cut out for
some office job
448: Think you’ll hang in there?
449: I have no choice
450: At this point, I have to
put pressure on the company
34:34B #In November 2006, Rentai Union
began negotiations with Fucox
35:35B #On March 20, 2007, the parties
reached an agreement
36:36B #Kaikura found employment with a new
company beginning April 2, 2007
37:37B #April 1, 2007#
451: How does it feel
being in a car again?
452: No big deal
453: No problems?
454: Well, I’m starting off
in the passenger seat
455: Think you can drive?
456: Sure, it’s only been a year
since I stopped driving
457: I’ll be fine after a day
458: You’re used to it
459: Sure was rough, though
460: Would’ve been worse if
wasn’t for the union
461: That’s what I’ve been saying
462: Only so much one person can do
463: It was terrible at first,
those men outside
464: Was that last March?
465: Just after the union got involved, I think
466: Not to burden you with this,
but to tell the truth,
467: my wife’s passing was
partly due to this
468: She wasn’t really ill,
but her age was catching up
469: She said her hips and feet
hurt everyday
470: Before the union got involved,
471: she was already thinking
of quitting her job
472: She was still working?
473: Right, it was part-time
work as a janitor
474: But she’d just talked
about quitting,
475: since it was hard on her body,
when she suddenly died
476: She’d never really been sick
or hospitalized or anything
477: You could say she was
the biggest victim
478: But now you can work again
479: Yeah, the future’s ahead of me
480: If things can get better,
481: then all is well
482: Good morning
483: Been a while,
waking up so early
484: It’s been, what,
months? Years?
485: Almost there
486: So have you found a “like a normal life”
like you said you want?
487: Hm, a “normal life”...
488: I wonder
489: I do have regular hours now,
and I get overtime and insurance,
490: which I think is what
a normal job should be like,
491: so being with a company like this
is a big first step for me
492: If I didn’t take a stand then,
I wouldn’t be in this position
493: But even though I might be okay now,
494: in order to make things better,
495: we need to keep taking action
496: So I intend to stay in the union
497: and to keep grappling with
the companies, or else...
498: nothing will change
499: Frankly, Touto isn’t the only one
There are others just like me
38:38B #Touto Transport
39:39B #Apologized for excessive hours, unpaid
overtime, union busting, and violence
40:40B #Currently out of business
41:41B #Fucox
42:42B #Apologized for neglecting violations,
union busting, and violence
43:43B #Terminated their contract with Touto
and established a new company
44:44B #The new company was named
Quattro Distribution
45:45B #They hired most of the drivers
previously employed by Touto
46:46B #They were drivers hired by Kudo
through an illegal agency
46:47B #In June 2007, Kaikura was finally
able to purchase a family altar
48:48B #He continues to work as a cement driver
while battling Crohn’s disease
49:49B [Cast]
KAIKURA Nobukazu
KAIKURA Tae
KAIKURA Mitsuhiro
[Reserch Support]
Rentai Union
50:50B [Cinematography&Editor]
TSUCHIYA Tokachi
[English subtitles]
GOTO Taro
[Production Company]
group Low Position
51:51B #Directed by: Tokachi Tsuchiya