(The following appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on February 28, 2011.)
PHILADELPHIA — The South Philadelphia factory that has fallen far behind schedule in building 117 SEPTA railcars is beset by material shortages, design flaws, inadequate equipment, and culture clashes and poor communication between Korean managers and American workers, according to interviews with workers and complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
African American, Hispanic, and female workers say they are frequently disparaged as inferior by their Korean managers. Some managers have slapped employees, workers say, and a male employee says he repeatedly was grabbed in the crotch by supervisors.
Workers, who are in contract negotiations with manufacturer Hyundai-Rotem USA Corp. after voting to join the Transport Workers Union in August, also contend that wages and benefits are so low that many employees must rely on food stamps and Medicaid.
So far, only five of the new cars are in service for SEPTA, including three “pilot” cars built and assembled in South Korea.
Five cars have been delivered from the South Philadelphia plant, but SEPTA is still testing three of them.
The new cars have been plagued by faulty communications systems, inadequate heating and cooling systems, balky doors, and computer software glitches.
And the cars are 10,000 pounds overweight.
Additional problems include wiring harnesses that had been drilled through and wires damaged by being pulled through sharp, unfinished openings.
The full story appears on the Philadelphia Inquirer website.