Members of the UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America), one of the biggest worker unions in the U.S., protested on Wednesday outside more than 75 Hyundai dealerships across the country, from NYC to LA.
Hyundai itself was not the target, as one would have thought upon hearing the news. Rather, the union members who held “Stop Sex Discrimination at Hyundai” and “Reinstate Ms. Park” banners were showing their support for Ms. Park.
And who is Ms. Park, we hear you ask? Well, she was a temporary worker for a subcontractor at Hyundai’s Asan factory in South Korea and was fired after filing a sexual harassment complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea in 2010.
The subcontractor terminated Ms. Park’s contract stating that it “harmed the company’s reputation”. Moreover, even though the commission found that the discharge was illegal and ruled in favor of Ms. Park, ordering the company to pay damages and hold the offender responsible, the subcontractor failed to comply. Since June 22, 2011, Ms. Park began a demonstration in the capital.
UAW responded to the Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU) call on all autoworkers and their unions to stand in front of their local Hyundai dealerships and demand that the company makes its subcontractor reinstate Ms. Park and comply with the commission’s ruling.
“Though we may work for different companies and in different countries, as workers, we support each other’s struggles and know that one of the best ways to hold our employers accountable is through consumer action at dealerships”, said Mike O’Rourke, an 33-year employee and president of UAW Local 1853 at General Motors’ Manufacturing Facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
