Toray's Internal Investigation Revealed Known Abuses and Assaults

 

Below please find segment VI, dated 8-8-24, explaining the truth about why Toray Plastics America (TPA) sued me in December 2018 when they claimed a common reader could identify TPA in my book, Successful Leaders Aren't Bullies, released September of 2018. 

TPA terminated me in September 2017 in retaliation for sharing my TPA shooting threat investigation with a Japanese Toray Expat who requested it.  

The US Occupational Safety and Health Act  prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for exercising their rights under the act, such as raising a safety concern with their employer. 

According to gun violence experts, soured workplace relationships, grievances in the workplace, or conflicts between its people cause workplace mass shootings. FBI records show that in 49% of workplace shooting cases, the most common trigger was interpersonal workplace difficulties  

On a scale of one (1) to five (5) with five meaning excellent and 1 meaning needs significant improvement, the problematic plant scored, on average, three points below their four sister sites in this Toray American / Toray Industries, product grouping plants' corporate culture assessment and investigation.

In the investigations, it became clear the catalyst and instigator of these horrific workplace ratings at the problematic plant was a well-known manager whose abusive and bullying behaviors were known by all Toray Plastics America executives, most of whom now run the organization.  

They did nothing in response to these claims, detailing illegal and violent manager behaviors.  Several of the behaviors involved assault and battery.  

The litany of claims and observations made about this problematic manager included: this person, "insulted, threatened, and berated workers, kept workers from taking breaks, poked workers with a pole, sprayed them with ammonia, threw manufacturing parts and equipment at them, and left demeaning notes and a harassing cards on workers' personal property.  The manager also leered over the stall and photographed a worker sitting on a toilet."

In retrospect, I should have contacted the local authorities, but I debated this because Toray is a major employer in Rhode Island, the USA's smallest state. Due to proximity and familiarity, everyone in RI in a powerful position becomes friendly with their peers, and corruption flourishes. 

I experienced this with the frivolous law suit Toray Plastics filed against me, and should have received summary judgement due to the lack of evidence. Instead, powerful RI people with inappropriate and colluding relationships undermined my rights to free speech and a fair trial.

When these appalling behaviors were being committed against front line Toray Plastic America workers, Toray Plastics America was receiving more RI workforce improvement grant monies than any other RI organization.

A Rhode Island Government Worker who helped administer workforce improvement grants at this time stated then Governor, and current Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo green lighted all respective and related workforce improvement monies to Toray Plastics America of North Kingstown, RI. Raimondo stated Toray gets whatever funds it wants, no questions asked. 

There was no oversight.  A Toray employee who reported directly to a Toray executive called RI's Workforce Improvement Grant division daily, asking for more money.  RI Workforce Improvement Grant Administrators always approved Toray’s requests for more funding.

Working in the Toray Plastics division where training was discussed and administered, I observed little training, or at least nowhere near the amount of training justifying the significant funds being dumped into Toray Plastics America by RI's Workforce Improvement Grant Administration.  

It was shocking to see Toray Plastics America receiving this tremendous amount of workforce improvement funding while knowing one of its key managers was assaulting and abusing its front-line workforce.

It was also tragic and wrong for a company headquartered in Japan, given the torturous atrocities American Soldiers suffered by Japanese Military during World War II, to allow managers to torture current American workers at Toray’s American Plants. 

Next:  How Toray Plastics America senior executives responded to the report and retaliated against me.