Workers at a Hyundai plant in Montgomery have launched a union drive, the second announced organization effort at a major Alabama automotive manufacturer in the last month.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) said in a statement Thursday morning that 30% of workers at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) had signed union cards. Workers quoted in a release cited concerns about pay and the toll the work had on their health.
Peggy Howard, a Hyundai worker quoted in the release, said “management pushes you back on the line too soon” after an injury.
“I had surgery on my rotator cuff in September and I had to go back to work the last of December,” Howard said in the statement. I didn’t get the two weeks ramp up and now I’m having pains all over again. I had a cortisone injection three weeks ago and I’m about to go back for another injection. If that doesn’t work, the doctor told me he’ll have to do the surgery over again. We need to make our jobs safer, we need the union.”
An email seeking comment was sent to an HMMA spokesman on Thursday.