Trump, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and my Dad

In 2020, Donald Trump issued a call to boycott Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company due to their corporate policy prohibiting employees from wearing attire with political messages (in this case, Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”). When I heard about Trump’s tantrum, I was curious to know more about Goodyear, a company that my dad worked for when he first came to the United States.

I write a bit about Goodyear in my book but, due to space limitations, I had to edit a large part out. Here is what was in an early manuscript of “Dancing in Their Light”:

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, founded in 1868, manufactured the first set of tires for Henry Ford’s Model-T automobile in 1907 and by the 1940’s had expanded into heavy duty aircraft and fighter plane production to support the war efforts. Goodyear established a training program for young men to learn about factory producton as well as broadening educational opportunities to learn about engineering, research, and management.

Not too many people know that Goodyear Farms was established in Litchfield Park, Arizona to grow cotton, the material needed for Goodyear’s pneumatic tire cord that provides the strength to maintain inflation pressure. This was also Goodyear’s way of providing opportunities for young men who had chosen farming as a career to learn about land and farm management.

In cooperation with the U.S. State Department, the Committee on Wartime Planning, and financed by the Chinese government, Goodyear selected Chinese students attending American universities to enhance their education by gaining hands-on knowledge of factory production and corporate business.

In 1944, my dad, after having graduated from Harvard University with a degree in accounting, was one of 4 Chinese students invited by Goodyear to gain hands-on knowledge about cost accounting and factory purchasing. All students received a salary while undergoing Goodyear’s training program which was part of their endeavors to strengthen international ties between the United States and other countries.

So…..rather than boycott Goodyear, let’s emulate their unwavering corporate policy which is rooted in a culture that values inclusion, opportunity, and tolerance.

For more info: https://corporate.goodyear.com/us/en/about/history.html

My Dad (kneeling, left) and the three other Chinese students chosen to participate in Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s international training course in 1944. Photo credit: Goodyear’s employee newspaper, The Wingfoot Clan, May 24, 1944)