Attention AAA Members: New Auto Glass Program Could Move Business to Foreign Company

BRIGHTON, Mich., Sept. 23, 2009; There's a few things AAA of Michigan isn't telling you about its new auto glass program.

They don't want you to know that the new program could take thousands of jobs away from the Michigan-owned auto glass businesses and Michigan-based glass manufacturing companies that have done work for years. Specifically:

AAA of Michigan is outsourcing its auto glass claims processing to a foreign-owned company;

AAA glass claims phone calls will be answered by a foreign-owned company that makes auto glass, installs auto glass, sells auto glass and answers the phones for what we believe is more than 70% of the insurance companies in America;

Your sensitive information could be used by this claims administrator to steer jobs to their own foreign-owned glass shops potentially putting independent family-owned glass shops out of business in the state of Michigan;

AAA and its foreign-owned claims administrator may force you to use non-original equipment glass called aftermarket parts;

Much of this aftermarket glass is imported and we believe a large majority of that imported glass comes from China. Most aftermarket glass is reverse-engineered and, like a copy made on a copier, isn't the same form or fit as the original equipment;

Because of the large quantities of Non-Original Equipment (non-OE) glass being imported into the U.S., our glass manufacturing in the U.S. has been devastated with production off over 30% in the past 2 years.

You can help insure quality. Tell AAA you want to use a Michigan-owned glass shop. Tell them you want OE glass installed in your vehicle and tell them to bring your auto glass claims processing back to a U.S. company that doesn't have a conflict of interest and does not steal work from independent glass shops in Michigan.

  Dave Zoldowski
  President
  Independent Glass Association
  Auto One of Brighton