DMG Mori Seiki

Company logoMori Seiki is a Japanese manufacturing company of precision machines, most of which would seem pretty mysterious to those of us without engineering backgrounds. In addition to the Digital Technology Laboratory that already exists in Davis, the company's first North American factory was completed in Davis in 2012. It was estimated that the factory would employ between 100 and 150 people. The pre-existing DTL, which is next door to the newer plant, was one of the reasons the company wanted to located in Davis; they thought that it would be useful for their designers to be able to actually see the products being manufactured. Another reason was the proximity to UC Davis, from whence they hoped to draw interns and employees. This expansion made Mori Seiki one of the largest employers in Davis.

Beginning on September 12, 2011, morning commuters heading into Sacramento frequently observed between one and four people on the Dave Pelz Bike Overpass of I-80 holding a banner with the vague wording, "Mori Seiki hurts our community. Shame on them!" On Sept. 27, one of the protesters was decked out in a grim reaper costume, scythe and all. The protesters were Sacramento-area Carpenters Local Union 46. They said that although Mori Seiki would indeed create jobs in Davis, they would actually be hindering economic recovery by participating in a "race to the bottom" as far as paying subcontractors went. A news story with video covers the union's activities and opinions. The union's protest flier read: "Mori Seiki hurts our community by not requiring area standard wages and benefits to be paid and by not requiring apprenticeship and journeyman upgrade training which benefits the construction trade and the community as a whole."

In the News

• June 2011 Davis Enterprise article detailing the construction of the facility.

• Sacramento Carpenter's Union appears to be unhappy that Mori Seiki didn't hire a construction company that pays prevailing wages. —jimstewart