Hyundai and Kia executives Monday denied allegations in a lawsuit filed last week by a nonprofit organization claiming the Orange County-based carmakers violated state law against unfair competition with the use of exploited labor from children, immigrants and inmates.
Jobs to Move America filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Fountain Valley-based Hyundai and Irvine-based Kia of using cheap labor in supply chains, then masking it to get contracts from public agencies in California. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, and Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez warned at a news conference with the plaintiffs that the companies’ contracts could face trouble with public agencies if the allegations are proven.
“Kia America denies the allegations in the complaint and is committed to working only with suppliers who comply with federal, state, and local labor laws,” Kia America spokesman James Bell said Monday.
“These allegations are baseless,” Alasdair Coleman of Hyundai said in a statement. “We prioritize the safety and well-being of our workforce above all else and remain fully compliant with all federal and state regulations. We require our suppliers and business partners to adhere to Hyundai’s strict safety, employment, and legal standards, and take decisive action when violations occur.
“For nearly four decades, Hyundai has been a driver of American growth and innovation from its U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, and we value our long-standing relationship with the state. Hyundai is a major economic contributor to the communities in which we operate and is committed to providing good jobs, with competitive wages and benefits. Hyundai recently announced that we are creating 25,000 new U.S. jobs — on top of our existing 190,000 jobs — as part of a $26 billion investment commitment. In Alabama, we employ 4,500 people directly and support an additional 18,000 jobs, generating more than $2.4 billion in private disposable income each year. At our new plant in Georgia, we have committed to employing 8,500 workers by 2031 — creating an estimated 40,000 direct and indirect jobs across the state.”
Meredith Stewart of Jobs to Move America said in a news conference last week that the companies have “engaged in severe labor exploitation, including coerced prison labor, child labor and migrant labor with working conditions that led to higher safety issues and death.”
Stewart said the companies were using labor from prisons in Alabama and Georgia, which she argued “likely violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.”
Stewart said some of the employees are children “as young as 13.”
Stewart said the companies “maintain close control over their suppliers and do have the power to influence their employment practices.”
The lawsuit seeks a court order preventing the companies from receiving certifications that their vehicles “are made with high-road employment standards until they submit to an independent audit of their supply chain in Alabama and Georgia,” Stewart said.
Attorney Brian Olney said, “This case is about the dirty secret behind the clean electric vehicles Hyundai is selling to government agencies. … Hyundai uses children to build its vehicles who aren’t even old enough to drive a car themselves … Hyundai relies on prison labor, forced labor and even human trafficking.”
Former Hyundai employee, Mark Miller, said at the news conference that he helped make parts for the car company in Montgomery, Alabama, and alleged, `There was nothing safe. There was no training. It was get on the line, get the parts and get them out the door no matter what.”
Another former Hyundai employee, Rosalinda Soriano-Torres, said the job she was recruited for turned into “manual labor.” She said, “The work was exhausting and the personal protective equipment was minimal … and the working conditions were dangerous.”
Soriano-Torres said immigrants were paid less than U.S. citizens for the same job.
“I wanted to quit, but if I lost my job I’d lose my visa,” she said.
When she got pregnant and asked for a less risky job she was fired, she said.
“If these allegations are true we have a serious problem,” Durazo said. “I have questions that need answers. … How can our public agencies purchase vehicles from a company whose supply-chain practices would be illegal here? And what message does it send if we continue business as usual? The state of California needs to investigate.”
Soto-Martinez added, “If these allegations are true, it would absolutely affect our purchasing decisions in the city of Los Angeles. Dignity, fairness and respect for every worker — these are the values of our city. … We will not tolerate anti-worker practices, not here, not anywhere.”