Some 33 members of Congress have asked the U.S. Labor Secretary to punish those responsible for using child labor in automotive plants in Alabama making parts for Hyundai and Kia.
A media investigation last year revealed that migrant children as young as 12-years-old were working in at least four major suppliers of Hyundai and Kia in Alabama. The ages of the children, and other factors, made their employment illegal and authorities are investigating whether the children may have been victims to criminal labor trafficking networks.
A letter sent by Democratic lawmakers, led by Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh says the department needs to “take immediate action to rid Hyundai’s supply chain of child labor.” The letter also urged the department to hold those accountable “to the fullest extent of the law.”
Read: Hyundai To Cut Ties With Alabama Suppliers Using Child Labor
The letter was signed by Kildee and numerous other lawmakers throughout Michigan, as well as congress members from California, Massachusetts, New York, and 12 other states, Reuters reports.
“Clearly, there is a systemic effort within the Hyundai supply chain to recruit child labor from abroad, undermining workers in other parts of the U.S. auto industry. And it must be addressed immediately,” the letter reads. “It is abhorrent this activity continues even after a DOL investigation. We urge DOL to take immediate action to rid Hyundai’s supply chain of child labor and hold those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
One of the four suppliers found to be using child labor, SMART Alabama LLC, is owned directly by Hyundai and supplies parts to the carmaker’s assembly plant in Montgomery.
In a statement, Hyundai said it “agrees that child labor is entirely unacceptable” but added it was “disappointed” that the letter from lawmakers didn’t mention the “comprehensive actions we have taken in collaboration with the Department of Labor to address the allegations of underage workers at certain suppliers.”
