Mexican Labor News
& Analysis

Vol. 15 No. 1

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Vol. 14 No. 11

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Vol. 14 No. 10

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Dedication and Call to Action
We dedicate this issue of Mexican Labor News and Analysis to the Mexican Electrical Workers (SME) and to their continuing struggle to defend the publicly owned company that the government has liquidated, to defend their union, and to win back the 44,000 jobs they have lost.

We also call upon our readers, their labor unions, social movements and human rights organizations to take action to support the electrical workers who at this moment represent the front line in the fight for union rights, human rights, and democracy in Mexico. On December 4th, SME has called for another mobilization in Mexico and has asked that its international supporters focus their attention on Mexican Embassies or consulates. Please support them however you can: by sending letters, or organizing delegations or demonstrations at your consulate around that date. Information and a list of the consulates appear in call to action – the first item below.

Below the call to action you will find an overview of the current situation, two accounts of the recent national work stoppage called by the union and its supporters, and an appeal by long-time Mexican union and political activist Bertha Luján.

Vol. 14 No. 9

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Special Alert!

On the night of October 10, President Calderón ordered federal police to seize the power plants operated by the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME), while simultaneously liquidating the state-owned Light and Power Company, and firing the entire workforce of approximately 43,000 employees. Some 22,000 retirees and 1,500 union technical school trainees were also affected. Five days earlier, the government refused to accord legal recognition to the democratically elected president of the Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union, Martín Esparza, although this should have been a routine matter.

At this moment, 5,000 federal police, backed up by at least 10,000 police reserves, and 3,000 military officers still hold over 100 facilities.

Labourstart has issued an alert prepared by the Mexico Solidarity Network. We encourage you to take a minute to send a message.

If you have the time to draft your own letter, especially if you can put it on your own letterhead, feel free to use material from the letter sent by the UE officers which appears below. Immediately below that you will find information about this conflict followed by statements from several organizations.

Please circulate this alert as widely as possible.

In solidarity,

Robin Alexander
Director of International Affairs
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)

Vol. 14 No. 8

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Vol. 14 No. 7

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Vol. 14 No. 6

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Vol. 14 No. 5

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Vol. 14 No. 4

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To Our Readers,

The three-year struggle between the Mexican Miners and Metal Workers Union, on the one hand, and Grupo Mexico and the Mexican government, on the other, took on new dimensions this past month as the company and the state took measures apparently intended to inflict a decisive blow against the union. Mexico's independent labor federation the National Union of Workers (UNT) and the broad alliance with which it is in coalition issued strong statements in support of the miners, while for the first time the Party of the Democratic Revolution and its allies in the Broad National Front came down strongly on the side of the miners. The show of solidarity, however, may once again only raise the stakes; as several labor and political leaders have remarked recently, the country seems headed for a confrontation.

In the past, when labor or social movements have grown strong and become a pole of attraction which pose a challenge to the ruling party and government, the state has stepped in, dispatching the Army to crush the potential alternative. While no one can predict the future, anyone who has studied Mexico's history must wonder if we are not at another one of those points of national confrontation. When railroad workers carried out a national general strike in 1959, the Army suppressed the movement. Again in 1968 when students created a movement for democratic change, the Army was sent in. Similarly in 1975 when the electrical workers created the Democratic Tendency attracting many labor and social movements, it was the Army which crushed the movement. Whether or not we are at such a moment remains to be seen, but there are several conditions which make it see possible.

First, the government of Felipe Calderón has already dispatched about 40,000 troops, mostly to northern states, to fight the drug cartels. As it happens, these are also precisely the states where most of the major Mexican mines will be found. Second, the United States has provided Mexico with millions of dollars in military equipment through Plan Mexico (also known as the Merida Initiative) which ensures that the Army has the resources to carry out such an action. Third, the U.S. government, deeply worried about the possibility that Mexico might become a failed state is clearly interested in seeing the government reassert its authority. Whether this would extend to support for a crackdown against the labor movement remains to be seen.

While no one can foresee the future, history suggests we might be at just such a juncture: a massive military clamp down on the Mexican miners and the labor movement in general. U.S. labor unionists and others around the world should be on alert and prepared to intervene on the side of the miners.

We hope that we are wrong and that Mexico's labor and political movements can continue to build the power to force the Mexican government to do right by the miners. If that were to happen, it would break a 90-year old tradition of government repression of unions. We hope that it will.

Dan La Botz

Vol. 14 No. 3

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Dear Readers,

As always in our March issue we begin with a series of articles about women in Mexico in commemoration of International Women's Day.

Dan LaBotz and Robin Alexander

Vol. 14 No. 2

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AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APPRECIATION OF OUR SOURCES We have been publishing Mexican Labor News and Analysis (MLNA) continuously now for 14 years and La Jornada, the Mexico City daily newspaper has always been one of our principal sources. For many of our stories, we rely on La Jornada's excellent labor and social movement coverage. We also, of course, look at other Mexican and U.S. media, but most important is the coverage of La Jornada to which we constantly refer and which we frequently summarize in our articles. While we are recognizing our sources, we should mention that articles by David Bacon and John Ross periodically enliven our pages and less frequently, though no less appreciated, are pieces by Fred Rosen. We also appreciate IRC's willingness to allow us to include articles by Laura Carlsen, director of the IRC Americas Program in Mexico City and occasionally by other IRC contributors. Most important, our collaborators in the Authentic Labor Front (FAT) keep us updated about the FAT's organizing campaigns and other activities. Ben Davis of the Solidarity Center kindly sends us regular mailings dealing with labor unions and other issues. We also receive mailings on important issues from CITTAC in Tijuana, from Enlace, from the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s and from union activists at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, and others. Occasionally some of our readers travel to Mexico and send us reports regarding other developments. If you should travel to Mexico and are interested in covering events or developments involving unions or other labor related issues there, please let us know.

Vol. 14 No. 1

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Dear Readers, We wanted to share some fabulous news we received just as we are going to press: a California company has announced it will purchase the assets of Republic Windows, putting UE Members Back to Work!

Chicago - January 14, 2009

UE Local 1110 announced today that the leading company in the green window business -- Serious Materials, based in Sunnyvale, California -- is in the final stages of working out an agreement to purchase the assets of Republic Windows and Doors. Members of UE Local 1110 staged a sit-in last month to win severance, health benefits and earned vacation pay, after the plant's previous owner shut down with only three days' notice to workers.

Though some details still need to be finalized, the union is told that the parties are very close to inking a deal. "We are all hopeful about the possibility of Serious reopening our plant. This would be a very happy ending to our struggle," said former Republic worker and Local 1110 Vice President Melvin Maclin.

Serious Materials is a leading manufacturer of energy saving green building products. Their stated mission is to reduce greenhouse gases by one billion tons annually. "These are the green-collar jobs we need for the future of our community," said Armando Robles, former Republic maintenance worker and president of Local 1110. Serious Materials and the union believe there is market in the Midwest for the energy efficient, super-insulating windows and commercial glass that Serious makes.

Serious has said that it hopes, after a ramp-up period, to eventually hire all of the former Republic workforce. For that to happen, however, the bankruptcy court must act quickly. The local fears that if the court delays, the business will evaporate and it will be difficult to re-hire anyone. "We hope that the creditors, trustee and judge will allow Serious to purchase the assets soon, so I and my co-workers can start making windows again," said Robles.

Please help spread this great news!


In solidarity,

Robin Alexander
Director of International Affairs
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)

Vol. 13 No. 12

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Dear Union Sisters and Brothers, Activists and Friends:

This has been an incredible year, as the international and domestic work of the UE and Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) have intersected in some important and wonderful ways. None of us can walk this path alone and your contributions and support gave life to the words International Solidarity.

International Rank and File Solidarity in Action

In the public sector we have seen an increase both in organizing and in the warm relationship of solidarity that has developed between public sector workers in Connecticut, North Carolina and West Virginia with their counterparts in Chihuahua and Nayarit.

Mexico, Spring 2008: Last spring, our labor delegation to Mexico resulted in gains for our FAT brothers and sisters. Benedicto Martinez, a national coordinator of the FAT, says, "The arrival of trade unionists from other countries created the opportunity for excellent discussions with the municipal president in one of the cities where we represent workers. We spoke about the importance of a different sort of trade unionism in Mexico, one which is democratic, honest, and responds to current conditions. At the time we arrived, rumors were flying that lay-offs were imminent. In the course of our conversations, the president re-assured us that he would seek other alternatives." Shortly after our return we received word from the local's president that the municipal president had made a commitment to her that there would be no cuts. As UE Local 222 president Marie Lausch said, "This really is international solidarity at work!"

Organizing Against the Odds… And Winning!

In Mexico, organizers and rank and file leaders from the FAT continue their difficult task of organizing against great odds, with enthusiasm and determination. Intimidation, violence, and corruption, are characteristic of virtually all union elections in Mexico, where workers are forced to vote out loud in front of factory owners and, oftentimes, thugs. However, we are happy to report a recent victory at Tornel, and also to let you know that a few weeks ago the FAT filed a representation petition on behalf of workers in one of UE's sister shops. In addition, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled this year that secret ballot elections are required; while not a panacea, this is a major step forward in Mexico.

The impact of our international work with the FAT and other unions has also been felt in North Carolina. Inspired by the FAT's use of international law, the North Carolina International Worker Justice Campaign combines organizing with innovative legal work and international solidarity to challenge that State's prohibition on collective bargaining for public sector workers. The collective efforts of workers in North Carolina and their international and domestic allies are having an impact. Recently workers in Charlotte, beat back efforts at privatization, and workers at the state's mental institutions successfully delayed the closure of one of the state hospitals.


International Solidarity… Works!

North Carolina, October 2008: Housekeeping workers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, tense and worried about getting back to work in time as the end of their lunch hour rapidly approached, suddenly broke into smiles and cheers. Martínez had just finished telling the workers about the complaint the FAT had filed in Mexico, supporting their contention that North Carolina's ban on collective bargaining is a violation of international law. The public sector workers were celebrating solidarity in action.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers filed a complaint in Ottawa under the labor side agreement of NAFTA on behalf of more than forty labor organizations. The FAT coordinated the participation of several dozen Mexican unions as well as the Mexican press work. This complaint parallels one filed in 2006 in Mexico challenging North Carolina's prohibition on collective bargaining. However, the recent passage of the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement caused the petitioners to raise a new question: "If the U.S. is prepared to insist on collective bargaining rights in Peru, why is it refusing to do so in North Carolina?"

Thirteen Years and Going Strong…

We are also happy to say that thanks to the tireless contribution of editor Dan LaBotz we are completing our thirteenth year of publishing Mexican Labor News and Analysis!

... For a Good Long Time

We ask you to continue supporting our efforts to make this difficult work possible! Please give generously!

In Solidarity,

Robin Alexander
Director of International Affairs
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)


Please send your contribution to UE, One Gateway Center, Suite 1400, Pittsburgh, PA., 15222. For a tax deductible contribution please make the check to the UE Research and Education Fund, or contribute on line

Vol. 13 No. 11

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We came to know Antonio Villalba as a union activist and as a leader of the FAT, as husband and father and as a friend. Antonio was a serious and dedicated labor leader, a great fighter and a warm, wonderful storyteller with a terrific sense of humor. He will be sorely missed. The following is a translation of the memorial by the Authentic Labor Front: “We Celebrate the life of Antonio Villalba, 1944-2008.”

With great respect, admiration and sadness,

Robin Alexander and Dan LaBotz

Vol. 13 No. 10

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Vol. 13 No. 9

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Vol. 13 No. 8

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Vol. 13 No. 7

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Vol. 0 No. 0

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Vol. 13 No. 6

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Vol. 13 No. 5

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Vol. 13 No. 4

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Vol. 13 No. 3

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BENEDICTO MARTÍNEZ OROZCO OF THE FRENTE AUTÉNTICO DEL TRABAJO (FAT) TO SPEAK IN PITTSBURGH AND DETROIT



Benedicto Martínez Orozco, one of the most important leaders of Mexico's independent trade union movement will be in Pittsburgh from April 6 - 8, and in Detroit from April 10 - 13th. In Pittsburgh he will be speaking at church, union and university venues on topics ranging from the impact of NAFTA and globalization on Mexican workers to the relationship of solidarity with the Pittsburgh-based United Electrical Workers (UE), which led Mexican unions to support the struggle of public sector workers in North Carolina for collective bargaining rights. Martínez is co-president of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) and vice president of the independent labor federation, the Union Nacional de Trabajadores (UNT). For details, see Events and Delegations, below.

Vol. 13 No. 2

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Vol. 13 No. 1

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