By Teto Héctor Huezo
UAW’s successful Stand Up Strikes lit a fire under the labor movement, moving the needle on what’s possible for workers as automakers transition to making electric vehicles.
Fueled by that victory, JMA is standing alongside our UAW partners to demand a national community benefits agreement with nonunion automaker Hyundai. Last week, we testified at LA Metro as it was poised to approve a $730 million railcar contract with a Hyundai subsidiary.
The demand comes after news investigations found that four major suppliers of Hyundai and sister Kia Corporations employed child labor at its Alabama factories. Child labor is the tragic result of a decades-long race to the bottom in U.S. manufacturing, where the bottom line is more important than worker health and safety.
With our Alabama Coalition for Community Benefits, we’ve previously demanded that Hyundai stop all uses of child labor and come to the table to negotiate a community benefits agreement (CBA) for their factories there.
What is a CBA? It’s a legally binding agreement between a company and community groups that’s used to secure a wide range of job and equity standards.
CBAs won by JMA, our union partners and other organizations have improved working conditions; increased direct-hire, which helps prevent child labor; and created good job opportunities for marginalized groups at global manufacturers. At New Flyer’s Alabama plant, for instance, the CBA is already changing workers’ lives.
Given Hyundai’s history of child labor, we’re demanding a national community benefits agreement that would ensure improved working conditions, guard against child labor, and create inclusive training and hiring programs for women, workers of color and formerly incarcerated individuals at all Hyundai-Kia facilities and their suppliers.
From L.A. to AL, vehicle purchases with public money anywhere must result in good jobs and community benefits everywhere.
As with the LA Metro contract, you can see how millions of our public dollars are used for government purchases. It is unacceptable for our taxpayer money to be used for child labor and other poor labor practices.
Instead, let’s use that big pot of money as an opportunity to change the way we do business in America.