IUE-CWA Members Advocate for Union Protections During Visit from Congressman Ro Khanna

On October 6, IUE-CWA members and retirees met with Congressman Ro Khanna in Dayton, Ohio, as part of his investigation into Fuyao Glass, a Chinese-owned company with a reputation for safety issues and labor law violations. Congressman Khanna is the Ranking Member on the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Fuyao took over a plant previously owned by General Motors for its “Truck and Bus” manufacturing. The facility was once the worksite of tens of thousands of IUE-CWA Local 84755 members.

Sharing her recollections of the plant under Fuyao management with Congressman Khanna, IUE-CWA Local 84798 member Demetria Hodges said, “The conditions were terrible; there were a lot of safety violations and injuries. I was hit by a forklift and had to be out on workers’ comp for months. The company did nothing to address the safety hazard, and more workers have continued to be injured on the job.” Hodges now works at the IUE-CWA DMAX facility, where safety is a much higher priority. "We have a voice on the job, better safety and working conditions, and better pay. I couldn't imagine going back to work at a factory without a union," said Hodges.

Workers attempted to form a union at Fuyao in 2017 but were met with fierce opposition from the company, who held captive audience meetings, spread rumors about closing the plant, and offered workers a raise if they would “vote no” on the union. Despite these flagrant labor law violations, the company has never been held accountable. The union drive is documented in the Oscar-winning documentary "American Factory," currently on Netflix.

President Carl Kennebrew shared, “Workers at Fuyao and across the country deserve a fighting chance for safety, good wages, and respect on the job that they can win through a collective bargaining agreement. That is why we will never stop fighting for the rights of workers to unionize.”

 
IUE-CWA members and retirees, including IUE-CWA Local 84775 President Sam Sanders (third from right) and Local 84775 Vice President Dawn Smith (second from right), met with Congressman Ro Khanna (center) to discuss numerous safety issues at the plant since its purchase by Fuyao Glass.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.