John,

Hyundai has been caught using incarcerated people in Alabama to make its car parts — in dangerous and abusive conditions.

A new investigation has revealed that imprisoned workers, who are disproportionately Black, have been subject to extreme safety hazards, harassment, forced overtime and even made to work with broken bones.

One inmate said he was ordered to go back to work after breaking a bone in his hand. If he refused he risked being sent to a more violent prison.

Hyundai has the power to demand its suppliers clean up their act. Hyundai cares about its reputation, so if we can shine a spotlight on its supply chain it will have to stop the human rights violations occurring.

More than 46,006 people have already signed the petition. Will you add your name now?

Hyundai’s supply chain violations are rooted in racism. What’s happening in Alabama is part of the “New Jim Crow” — a system where mass incarceration replaces segregation, trapping Black communities in cycles of surveillance, punishment and exploitation. And Hyundai is benefiting from it.

And because incarcerated workers are desperate to escape horrific daily conditions inside prisons they are the perfect cheap labour force for Hyundai’s suppliers: low pay, no rights, no ability to quit.

The prison labor system is hurting all workers. The investigation also found that when prison labor makes up more than 10% of a suppliers’ work force, wages for non incarcerated workers falls by up to 14%.

This isn’t the first time human rights violations have occurred in Hyundai’s supply chain. In 2022 it was revealed that children were being put to work making car parts for Hyundai. After this came to light, massive public pressure forced suppliers to cut ties with the agencies involved.

Suppliers need to clean up their act, and pressure from Hyundai could make this happen now. Will you call on Hyundai to stop the human rights abuses occurring in its supply chain?

Hyundai: clean up your supply chain now.

We’ve put pressure on automakers before and won. Last year people from all around the world demanded Toyota Australia stop its dirty lobbying for fossil fuels and together with allies we forced the car company out of the way so the government could regulate vehicle pollution. It was a win for our health and the planet.

Now it’s time for Hyundai to clean up its act.