Its workers build chassis for truck trailers and huge metal shipping containers, which are then finished in the main Hyundai plant. Han Young workers complain they often lack welding masks, gloves and safety shoes. The plant has no ventilation system, and lead fumes from soldering cause permanent eye damage. But at the heart of the Han Young workers' demands was company recognition of their independent union. Han Young has had a union since the factory was built years ago.
Workers call it a company union.
Han Young managers, like most in Tijuana, make a regular payment to officials of the CROM labor federation. This union holds no meetings, and its representatives rarely, if ever, visit the plant. Workers with complaints get no assistance. The company is paying for labor peace, not for grievances and problems. The company union is a labor protection system for foreign corporations with factories on the border.