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Community and labor groups release report on Kawasaki, call for Community Benefits Agreement
NEW YORK, September 30, 2025–A newly released report from Jobs to Move America (JMA) and Cornell University’s Climate Jobs Institute reveals troubling findings about working conditions at MTA contractor Kawasaki’s railcar manufacturing facilities in New York and Nebraska.
Citing low pay, hazardous conditions, and widespread experience of discrimination reported by workers, a coalition of NY and Nebraska groups held a press conference calling on Kawasaki to begin negotiating a legally binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) that would ensure the public monies the company receives are matched by fair treatment for its workers and neighbors.
Kawasaki has received billions of dollars over the past four decades to manufacture railcars for the MTA. In 2018, the NY MTA awarded the company a $4.5 billion railcar contract – the largest in its history.
Although Kawasaki committed to providing good jobs for the duration of the contract, specific details about wages and benefits have been withheld from the public by the MTA, citing the company’s concerns that such information may “unnecessarily agitate” its workforce.
In the absence of this data, report authors spent a year surveying 180 Kawasaki workers and conducted in-depth interviews with current and former workers to independently assess working conditions at the company’s manufacturing facilities in Nebraska and New York.
Many described a culture that prioritizes speed and profit over safety and well-being, contributing to low morale and serious injuries.
Quotes from labor and community leaders
“Kawasaki has benefited from billions in public contracts while the very workers who build the trains for our transit systems struggle with low wages, dangerous conditions, and disrespect on the job. Our union stands with these community leaders to demand accountability. If the MTA changed course and became a positive force in this equation, workers in New York and Nebraska could win the safe, stable, and family-supporting jobs they deserve.” – John Samuelsen, International President, Transport Workers Union
“From the Empire State to the Cornhusker state, public spending can help rebuild US manufacturing as a vehicle to the middle class. From low wages to disrespect on the job and reliance on temp labor, the report from our partners at Jobs to Move America shows that Kawasaki’s plants fall far short. Nebraska labor and community leaders believe Kawasaki, benefiting from billions in public dollars, can and should provide the kind of dignified, equitable jobs our communities deserve.”
Sue Martin, President/Secretary-Treasurer, Nebraska State AFL-CIO
“Railcar manufacturing should be a source of pride and stability for workers and their families. The findings in this report underscore why it’s so important to raise standards in both New York and Nebraska. SMART supports efforts to ensure these jobs are safe, fair, and sustainable.” “
John McCloskey, Directing General Chairperson of Rail Mechanical Division, Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation (SMART)
“We applaud investments to keep New York’s world class transit system at 21st century standards, but only if those standards include dignified, safe, family-sustaining jobs for working families. We urge the MTA to do everything in its power to hold the companies building our rail cars – Kawasaki and any others awarded contracts in the coming years – accountable to values of respect, transparency and fair wages in treatment of their workers.”
Theodore A. Moore, ALIGN Executive Director.
“Our research shows that Kawasaki’s U.S. manufacturing jobs fall significantly short of what most would call ‘good jobs.’ Workers reported pay below industry standards, unsafe environments, and widespread experience of discrimination. When taxpayer dollars fund these contracts, we must ensure they create equitable, high-quality jobs that strengthen communities rather than undermine them.”
Reyna Cohen, Research and Policy Development Associate, Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University
“Our congregation and community are proud to host the makers of New York’s famous subway cars, but we’re also shocked by Kawasaki workers sharing their experiences with below-average wages, temp labor, race and gender discrimination, and injuries on the job. Yonkers residents insist on good, career-track jobs for our people, and we’re eager to partner with Kawasaki to turn it into a model, high-road employer.” – Rev. Margaret Coleman, Messiah Baptist Church of Yonkers
“From my years working at a manufacturer here in Lincoln, I know manufacturing can be a win-win when employers partner with organized workers to create the kind of jobs we can be proud of. But the Jobs to Move America’s report – based directly on the experience of workers at Kawasaki’s Lincoln plant – tells a very different story: low wages, workers told not to talk about those wages, women earning less than men, workplace injuries rampant. Nebraskans are excited to join arms with New Yorkers to create a new story of Kawasaki as a high–road employer that the community embraces.” – Diana O’Brien, IBEW Local 2366 Business Manager, Lincoln, Nebraska
Key findings from the report
Pay Inequities
- Surveyed women earned $3.49 less per hour on average than surveyed men.
- Temporary workers hired through staffing agencies represented over half of survey respondents and earned $4.66 less per hour on average than workers directly hired through Kawasaki.
Unsafe Working Conditions
- Workers reported witnessing a coworker get injured (40%) or being injured themselves (17%) at their worksite.
Widespread Experience of Discrimination
- Half of workers reported witnessing unfair treatment based on race (24%), gender (24%), immigration status (10%), and other protected categories.
Toxic Workplace Culture
- Workers reported witnessing supervisors use slurs or derogatory language about a group of people (16%) and make offensive comments or jokes (27%) in the workplace.
Read our full report here.
About Jobs To Move America (jobstomoveamerica.org)
Jobs to Move America is a strategic policy center that works to transform public spending and corporate behavior using a comprehensive approach that is rooted in racial and economic justice and community organizing. We seek to advance a fair and prosperous economy with good jobs and healthier communities for all.