The UAW is saddened and disgusted to read new reports of child labor at Hyundai and Kia suppliers in Alabama. This is further evidence of a deeply broken system at Hyundai and Kia. From years of experience in the auto industry, we know that automakers exert tremendous control over their suppliers and responsibility for this behavior points back to Hyundai and KIA who are using parts made with child labor. Clearly the initial instances that were brought to light in July and August of this year did not prompt the automakers to ensure that the parts they are receiving are ...
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Detroit, MI – Months after reports first appeared about multiple incidents of child labor at their suppliers in Alabama, Hyundai Motors is addressing the problem publicly. Their solution appears to be to sever ties with suppliers SMART (a company that is majority-owned by Hyundai) and SL Alabama which will likely result in job losses for hundreds of workers, without doing anything to address what appears to be a systemic problem. By abandoning these workers, the company – which has received millions of dollars in subsidies – has effectively walked away from a problem without any regard to the consequences of ...
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Detroit, MI – UAW commends the U.S. Department of Labor for its swift investigation and fining of SL Alabama LLC, a supplier of parts to Hyundai and Kia. The DOL found that the company illegally employed children as young as thirteen and was fined $30,076 to address their child labor violations. The Alabama Department of Labor also fined SL Alabama and JK USA, a temporary employment agency, $17,800 each for violating state laws that forbid underage children in manufacturing jobs. The children were hired through JK USA, a temporary employment agency which did not provide any required documentation. “This distressing ...
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Dept. of Labor Calls For Back Pay for Workers Terminated, Suspended for Raising Health & Safety Concerns at Ala. Lear Plant — Lawsuit Marks Latest in Series of Federal Crackdowns on Lear; Workers Vow to Continue Speaking Out for Safe Jobs Selma, Ala. – The U.S. Department of Labor has petitioned a federal court to order Lear Corp., a major supplier to Hyundai, to reinstate a whistleblower who was fired for speaking out about getting sick at the company’s plant in Selma. In its complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, the Labor Department ...
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Labor Board Demands Company Make Shop Floor Announcement that Workers Have Right to Organize — Workers Vow to Continue Speaking Out for Safe, Good Jobs Selma, Ala. – The federal government has charged Lear Corp., a major supplier to Hyundai, with illegally threatening on multiple occasions to close its Selma factory in an effort to intimidate workers who are organizing for higher pay and basic health and safety protections. In its complaint, the National Labor Relations Board also alleged that Lear supervisors interrogated workers over their support for organizing a union at the plant and repeatedly threatened them with job loss, ...
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Judge grants DOL request for temporary restraining order against major seat manufacturer that tried to silence whistle blower Contact: Jack Temple, jack.temple@berlinrosen.com, (646) 200-5280 Selma, Ala. – An Alabama federal judge Thursday issued a temporary restraining order against a major supplier to Hyundai that had threatened workers who spoke out about health and safety concerns and fired a whistle blower. The judge’s decision came a day after the U.S. Department of Labor, in a decisive move to protect workers’ rights, charged Lear Corp., which manufactures seats for Hyundai, with interfering in a federal investigation over dangerous conditions at its Selma, ...
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