UAW Issues Statement Condemning Dangerous Working Conditions and Immigration Raid at Hyundai

The UAW condemns Hyundai’s disgraceful record on worker safety. For years, Hyundai—including its joint ventures and the suppliers that work in its plants—cut corners on industry-standard safety precautions, refused to respect workers’ right to a union, and relied on the exploitation of immigrant labor to build its factories and supply chains. We’ve recently seen the consequences of this behavior: three workers at Hyundai were killed at work in the last two years.

When workers are put in danger by predatory companies like Hyundai, there is an opportunity for a constructive response from the federal government: OSHA and the NLRB have tools at their disposal to increase workplace safety. Unfortunately, the militarized federal crackdown on these workers further hurts safety at Hyundai. Workers are not the problem. Exploitative corporations are. The UAW will always stand with all workers—immigrant and native-born alike—against unsafe corporations and militarized attacks on our workplaces.