By Sherry Goldsby

No one should have to give up their health to support their family. But that's what happened to me - and is still happening to thousands of other Americans who make parts for big car companies like Hyundai that come here from other countries.

Growing up in Selma, I have known hard work all my life. I started working at the age of 14 to help out at home. I picked cotton and cucumbers. I worked at the All Lock auto parts plant for 25 years. I also worked at the Bush Hog plant that makes mowing equipment.

Then, in 2005, I got a job at the Renosol plant that makes seats and head rests for Hyundai. Hyundai is one of the richest companies in the world. They could afford to make sure that parts work is done safely with a wage that supports a family. But that's not what they do.

When you walk into the plant, you can smell the chemicals in the air. One of them is called TDI. It causes breathing problems and can eventually cause cancer. I started coughing and gagging half the night when I was trying to sleep. And many people I worked with had the same problem.

It didn't have to be like that. But when we would ask the higher-ups about it, they weren't concerned because they had nice air conditioning in their offices. All they were concerned about was getting Hyundai their parts.

To make more money, they refused to hire enough workers to do the job. Instead, they made us work from sunup to sundown, up to 12 hours a day, often seven days a week. I had two kids and bills to pay so I had to keep the job, but I was exhausted whenever I came home. People missed birthdays and other family events because they always had to be at the plant working. It was practically like being a slave.

When you work hours like that, your body begins to break down, especially if you aren't given the right tools. We had to bring kitchen knives and pliers from home to clean car seats on the line. When you use a tool like that for twelve hours, you start getting terrible pain in your hands and shoulders. I got to where both shoulders hurt like someone was beating me with a hammer.

At the same time, the pay at this Hyundai supplier is very poor - between $9 and $11.25 an hour. And we weren't paid at all for the 20-minute lunch breaks we had, which was against the law. I had to file a lawsuit, along with some other workers, to get that corrected.

Finally, a doctor told me I was in such bad shape that I couldn't do the same work anymore. Instead of assigning me work that I would be able to do, even in my condition, the company just put me out on the street. The health problems I got making parts for Hyundai, like carpal tunnel and trouble with my sinuses, will be with me for the rest of my life.

I know a lot of people who still work at that plant, including a lot of young people, and I don't want to see what happened to me happen to them. But sadly, a new investigation by NBC News indicates that working for this Hyundai supplier is still making workers sick.

I know that some of them have been getting together to try to improve conditions at the plant. That's something I have been praying over for many years.

Companies like Hyundai that come to the United States can afford to treat people right. I'm praying that people who make parts for them will no longer have to give up their health to bring home a paycheck because once your health is gone, you can never get it back.

Sherry Goldsby, a mother of two, worked at the Renosol parts plant in Selma.