The United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union is condemning Hyundai for what it calls a “disgraceful record on worker safety” following an immigration raid at an electric car battery factory in Georgia.
Most of the 475 people detained on Sept. 4 under suspicion of being in the United States illegally – with at least 300 reportedly hailing from South Korea – were employees of subcontractors, rather than direct employees, LGES and Hyundai Motor Company have said, according to Reuters.
“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,” the UAW said in a Tuesday press release.
The union says three workers at Hyundai died on the job in the last two years, and called on federal agencies including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Labor Relations Board to “increase workplace safety.”
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“Unfortunately, the militarized federal crackdown on these workers further hurts safety at Hyundai. Workers are not the problem. Exploitative corporations are,” the UAW’s statement said. “The UAW will always stand with all workers – immigrant and native-born alike – against unsafe corporations and militarized attacks on our workplaces.”
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“The safety and well-being of everyone working at our sites, whether directly employed by us or working for our suppliers, is a top priority,” Hyundai said in a Friday press release.
“We take our responsibility as a corporate citizen seriously, and incidents like this remind us of the importance of robust oversight throughout our entire supply chain and contractor network,” the company continued.
The detainees in Georgia are now set to be released and sent back to their home country, after South Korea and the U.S. reached an agreement.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Reuters contributed to this report.
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