Adam Keller, co-host of The Valley Labor Report and a leader in Alabama’s labor movement, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed what he described as troubling labor practices connected to an automotive supply chain facility in Alabama.
Keller began by recounting his recent trip to the Los Angeles Auto Show, where he and members of the Recall Injustice at Hyundai-Kia Coalition directly addressed Hyundai and Kia executives about worker exploitation and environmental violations within their southern supply chains. Their actions, though met with security interventions and eventual removal from the event, succeeded in delivering letters and drawing public attention to issues such as child labor, prison labor and workplace safety. Keller emphasized that these efforts were about raising standards not just for auto workers, but for communities across the South who are impacted by big corporate players.
He then detailed research findings from groups like Jobs to Move America and Columbia’s Labor Lab, which revealed stark disparities in pay, working conditions and safety for workers at this automotive supply chain facility, compared to other auto industry jobs in Alabama. Keller explained how reliance on incarcerated labor and reports of illegal child employment are not isolated incidents, but systemic problems with far-reaching social consequences. Environmental violations at this plant have also resulted in multimillion-dollar penalties, highlighting a pattern of negligence that not only endangers workers but also local residents, he said.
To address these issues, Keller advocated for a Community Benefits Agreement, which is a legally binding commitment between a company and a local coalition composed of labor, community, faith and environmental organizations. He cited an example of a successful CBA at the New Flyer plant in Anniston, Ala. that led to improvements for workers, including union recognition and safer, fairer workplaces. Keller called on Hyundai and Kia to engage in this collaborative process and urged policymakers to tie tax incentives to meaningful reforms, insisting that public investment should come with public benefit for everyday working families.
For more from Keller, listen to this full episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast.
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