Workers who manufacture New York City’s new subway cars are paid less than the industry standard and face poor working conditions, contributing to rampant delays in the production of modern subway cars desperately needed by the MTA, according to a report published Tuesday by a labor advocacy group.
The report by the nonprofit Jobs to Move America and Cornell University’s Climate Jobs Institute surveyed 180 current and former employees of the Japan-based company Kawasaki, which has received billions of dollars from the MTA over the last decade to build hundreds of train cars. The cars are primarily built in the company’s plant at Lincoln, Nebraska, and finished at a facility in Yonkers before they’re put into service.
The report found 79% of the company’s Nebraska employees and 68% of the workers in Yonkers reported struggling financially. It states the workers make 16% less than the industry standard for their jobs and many of those surveyed said they witnessed workplace injuries, unfair treatment and discrimination in their workplace.
Kawasaki spokesperson Michael McKeon did not address the report's claims and questioned whether the people surveyed were actually employed by the company.
The report comes as the MTA continues to order more trains from Kawasaki, which along with France-based Alstom is just one of two companies capable of manufacturing subway cars for the city. The last U.S.-based subway car manufacturers went out of business decades ago.
A Kawasaki-manufactured R211 subway car on the A line.
Since 2018, the MTA has ordered 1,610 new subway cars from Kawasaki for $4.5 billion — despite near-constant delays in delivery. The transit agency in 2022 reported high rates of turnover at Kawasaki’s manufacturing plants, saying the attrition contributed to yearslong delays in the delivery of the modern trains now running in the system, including the MTA’s new open-gangway cars.
The sluggish production of new trains mean riders are more likely to be stuck riding older, outdated subway cars that are far more likely to cause delays.
The report also ties Kawasaki’s alleged poor treatment of workers to problems with those new trains' gearboxes and signal systems that required some of them to be temporarily pulled from service in recent years.
Kawasaki has for decades managed to keep unions out of its manufacturing plants. Its Nebraska operation is in a right-to-work state with few union protections. But the employees in Yonkers are also non-union, despite being in a state known for strong labor protections and politically influential unions.
Jobs to Move America shared a Kawasaki employee handbook that discourages union drives. Instead of organizing a union, it tells workers, “You can talk to us, and we can talk to you; we hope to keep it that way,” and, “Each employee is treated as an individual.”
Lauren Schandevel, a campaigner with Jobs to Move America, said at a news conference Tuesday morning she wants the MTA to force Kawasaki to improve working conditions at its plant through a “community benefits agreement.”
“ A community benefits agreement is a win-win for communities, workers and the company and the MTA, frankly, which will have better products if their workers are trained and happy and not turning over constantly,” Schandevel said.” If Kawasaki doesn't want to come to the table and work with us, then community and labor leaders will continue to fight to make that happen.”
