Associated Press: A coalition of civil rights and labor leaders fighting Alabama's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law has taken its fight overseas with a Friday visit to South Korea to urge shareholders of Hyundai Motor Co. to call on the Yellowhammer State to repeal the law.
Representatives from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Service Employees International Union and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium attended the meeting in Seoul, South Korea, as share-holders.
Leadership Conference president Wade Henderson said he gave a presentation to Hyundai shareholders and plans to visit Daimler AG in Germany and Honda in Japan for their shareholder meetings in the coming months.
"We would hope Hyundai, Daimler and Honda would engage leaders in discussion to repeal the law," Henderson said. "We hope that Hyundai would press Alabama state officials to immediately suspend enforcement of the law and encourage the state's legislature to reconsider the impact of the law in light of the evidence of its consequences."
The wide-ranging law requires police to determine citizenship status during traffic stops and calls for government offices to verify legal residency for everyday transactions like obtaining a car license, enrolling a child in school, getting a job or renewing a business license.
Republicans in control of the state legislature and governor's office have said they plan on making minor adjustments to the law, but have no intention of repealing it.
In an email statement, Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford expressed puzzlement as to the delegation's actions.
"Hyundai is puzzled as to why these organizations would route a matter of Alabama public policy to Seoul, Korea -- more than 7,000 miles away from the Alabama Legislature, which enacted and has the power to amend H.B. 56 (the immigration law)," Hosford wrote.
He wrote that Hyundai, which has a large manufacturing plant in Montgomery, was being "unfairly singled out" by the delegation among thousands of Alabama businesses.
Henderson said the decision to focus on foreign automakers came because they are among the most significant businesses in the state. He said Hyundai, Daimler and Honda combined employ more than 45,000 Alabamians and pay $4.8 billion in wages each year.
He said thus far executives at Hyundai have resisted the delegation's request for a meeting.
SEIU international secretary-treasurer Eliseo Medina said the delegation made it clear to the company that they were extremely serious about dealing with the immigration law by making the trip to South Korea. The group held a news conference for Korean media in conjunction with some of the largest of the country's labor unions.
"While Alabama may not be a household word in Korea, thanks to the activities today, a large section of the Korean population will learn who Alabama is, what it stands for and what the problem is that it entails for Hyundai," Medina said.
In late February, Hyundai vice president of national sales Dave Zuchowski sent a letter to all of the company's vehicle dealerships in the United States warning them there might be protests at dealerships concerning Alabama's immigration law.
The dealerships were instructed to try to maintain business as usual and to not confront the protesters. The letter gave a hotline so dealers could report protests or any questions they might have.
Representatives from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Service Employees International Union and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium attended the meeting in Seoul, South Korea, as share-holders.
Leadership Conference president Wade Henderson said he gave a presentation to Hyundai shareholders and plans to visit Daimler AG in Germany and Honda in Japan for their shareholder meetings in the coming months.
"We would hope Hyundai, Daimler and Honda would engage leaders in discussion to repeal the law," Henderson said. "We hope that Hyundai would press Alabama state officials to immediately suspend enforcement of the law and encourage the state's legislature to reconsider the impact of the law in light of the evidence of its consequences."
The wide-ranging law requires police to determine citizenship status during traffic stops and calls for government offices to verify legal residency for everyday transactions like obtaining a car license, enrolling a child in school, getting a job or renewing a business license.
Republicans in control of the state legislature and governor's office have said they plan on making minor adjustments to the law, but have no intention of repealing it.
In an email statement, Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford expressed puzzlement as to the delegation's actions.
"Hyundai is puzzled as to why these organizations would route a matter of Alabama public policy to Seoul, Korea -- more than 7,000 miles away from the Alabama Legislature, which enacted and has the power to amend H.B. 56 (the immigration law)," Hosford wrote.
He wrote that Hyundai, which has a large manufacturing plant in Montgomery, was being "unfairly singled out" by the delegation among thousands of Alabama businesses.
Henderson said the decision to focus on foreign automakers came because they are among the most significant businesses in the state. He said Hyundai, Daimler and Honda combined employ more than 45,000 Alabamians and pay $4.8 billion in wages each year.
He said thus far executives at Hyundai have resisted the delegation's request for a meeting.
SEIU international secretary-treasurer Eliseo Medina said the delegation made it clear to the company that they were extremely serious about dealing with the immigration law by making the trip to South Korea. The group held a news conference for Korean media in conjunction with some of the largest of the country's labor unions.
"While Alabama may not be a household word in Korea, thanks to the activities today, a large section of the Korean population will learn who Alabama is, what it stands for and what the problem is that it entails for Hyundai," Medina said.
In late February, Hyundai vice president of national sales Dave Zuchowski sent a letter to all of the company's vehicle dealerships in the United States warning them there might be protests at dealerships concerning Alabama's immigration law.
The dealerships were instructed to try to maintain business as usual and to not confront the protesters. The letter gave a hotline so dealers could report protests or any questions they might have.
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