MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Leadership Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama announced the launch of a new initiative Friday that it says will not only streamline access to child care for its employees, but provide a monthly stipend.
The new initiative was born out of a new partnership between Hyundai and TOOTRiS, a child care technology platform that connects employers with child care providers.
Providing access to child care for workers in today’s world, argued Reggie Williams, senior manager of human resources at Hyundai, was “essential” in improving employee retention and attraction, particularly in Alabama with its labor participation rate of 57.4%, among the lowest such rates in the country.
“Our partnership with Tootris today represents our belief that a family-oriented workplace that is progressive is a cornerstone for our commitment,” Williams said.
“For us, we’re really excited because this represents a partnership that we hope will be lasting, that will help us to serve our team members in the best way that we can.”
Under the partnership, which launched the same day as the announcement, every worker at the Hyundai Montgomery plant with a child under the age of 13 will be eligible to receive a stipend of 25% of their monthly child care costs, up to $150. The initiative will also allow for workers to use the TOOTRiS platform to more easily connect with all local child care providers.
According to TOOTRiS, child care in Alabama costs, on average, $120 to $200 per week.
Last year, Gov. Kay Ivey shifted her focus to work on addressing the state’s low labor participation rate, a shift that materialized as a “transformative” workforce development plan unveiled in January by Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth. That plan, Ainsworth said, will manifest itself as several, yet-to-be introduced bills in the Alabama Legislature.
In designing the workforce development plan, Ainsworth and others used feedback received during countless legislative meetings last year that sought to identify barriers to employment, with among the most common barrier being a lack of access to child care.
The hope with Hyundai’s new child care initiative, said Alabama Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair, would be that the model is adopted by companies across the state.
“Increasing the labor force participation is a major focus for Gov. Kay Ivey; programs like TOOTRiS really do make a difference,” McNair said. “We’re hoping that other industries follow Hyundai’s lead in taking on this initiative.”
Eric Cutler, senior director of strategic initiatives at TOOTRiS, said that beyond helping employers better retain and recruit employees, expanding access to child care would also have a “ripple effect” on the local child care community given the financial assistance and better ease of access.
“Child care is no longer just a family issue, it’s really become a business issue; without child care, parents can’t work, without child care, parents can’t accept job promotions, they can’t accept additional shifts, and they can’t relocate,” Cutler said.
“From a business perspective, this means a less productive workforce, this means more absenteeism, hiring challenges and less growth opportunities. “
Cutler said that more than 50% of parents require paid daycare to work, 76% of parents had used paid time off to supplement child care when it isn’t available, and that 69% of parents had said child care costs have resulted in career changes. Hyundai’s new initiative, he said, would work to remove those barriers.
Joe Anderson, who’s worked at the Hyundai plant for two years, spoke at the press conference.
“I’m a father of two twin daughters, they’re 2 years old, and me and my wife had tribulations trying to find the right daycare,” Anderson said.
“I feel that the TOOTRiS program is going to be helpful because it takes away the guess-work; all we have to do is see, look, read reviews and go there.”
The announcement of the initiative comes not long after Hyundai workers reached a milestone in their ongoing efforts to unionize under the United Auto Workers Union in January. More than 30% of its employees have committed their support to unionize, with workers citing low pay and lack of retirement benefits as among their main grievances with the company.
Gov. Ivey has come out strongly against the unionization effort – which has already seen some success at the Mercedes-Benz plant near Tuscaloosa – as has Alabama’s business community and leadership.
Speaking on behalf of Hyundai, Williams told Alabama Daily News that the announcement was in no way a response to unionization efforts. Williams did say, however, that talks with TOOTRiS about collaborating on the initiative began last year in either September or October, the same period in which the UAW had been striking against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
“I don’t have much comment about what the UAW is doing, but I think that we like to listen to our team members directly, and we feel like that’s the best way for us to be able to respond to their needs,” Williams said.
Anna Buckalew, president of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, said the organization felt there was “no need for unionization in our workforce,” and that it would be a “detriment to our people here in the community.”
“The governor’s been very clear, it’s very bad for Alabama, we see no reason for outside people to come into our community and benefit off the backs of our workforce by taking money out of their pocket and taking it to Detroit when our companies are already committed,” Buckalew told ADN.
Buckalew’s comments echoed those made by Ivey in February during a Montgomery Chamber event, during which she urged business leaders and employers to stand against what she called the “threat from Detroit,” where the UAW is headquartered.