MEXICAN
MINIMUM WAGE RAISED—MINIMALLY
The Mexican
government’s National Minimum Wage Commission (CNSM) raised workers’ wages
by 5.78 percent in December of 2001, setting off a great debate in the opening
of 2002 about the welfare of the working class. The increase, the lowest in 37
years according to CNSM statistics, will affect almost all Mexican working
people because a considerable number of people are paid the minimum, and
because historically government pay scales and contractual wage increases have
been linked to it.
Every sector of
Mexican society felt obligated to speak on the paltry wage increase, from
employers and labor unions, to the political parties and the Catholic church.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD) both condemned the increase as inadequate, as did some
National Action Party and Mexican Green Ecological Party (PEVM)
representatives. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the PRD mayor of Mexico City,
accused Fox of following the same neoliberal economic policies as PRI
presidents Carlos Salinas and Ernesto Zedillo, and of ignoring his campaign
promises to improve the lives of the people.
Nezahualcóyotl de
la Vega, spokesperson for the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) called
the increase “a joke.” The Congress of Labor, lead by Leonardo Rodríguez
Alcaine, threatened to bring a case to the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN)
because the minimum wage does not cover the basic necessities of a family of
five as provided in Mexican law. The Mexican Constitution’s Article 123 and
the Federal Labor Law (LFT) both provide that the employers should pay
workers’ a living wage, which the new minimum does not do.
Victor Quiroga Juárez of the Authentic Labor Front (FAT) said that the minuscule wage increase demonstrated that Fox and the PAN were “insensitive to the great social problems, as they have demonstrated in the case of the teachers, the farm workers and now with the industrial workers.”
Similarly, Julio
Boltvinik, a specialist in labor studies at the prestigious Colegio de Mexico,
called the increase “ridiculous.” The government’s policy he said would
not lead to any improvement in workers’ wages over time. In Mexico, people
frequently speak of a job paying two or three minimum wages, meaning two or
three times the minimum wage. Boltnivik produced a table showing the increase
in the number of minimum wages needed to cover basic necessities. While in
1970 it took 2.31 minimum wages to purchase the basic shopping basket of
essential items, in 1980 it took 1.82, in 1990, 3.97, in 2000, 6.71, and in
2001, 6.94. That is, a worker would have to earn almost seven times the basic
minimum wage to provide for basic necessities. In Mexico today, 4.5 million
Mexicans (10% of the economically active population or PEA) earn less then one
minimum wage, and 5.5 million (12.4% of the PEA) earn just one minimum wage,
while 29.6 percent earn between one and two times the minimum wage. The
Workers University of Mexico (UOI) believes that it would take 3.7 times the
minimum wage to support a family.
The Center of
Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Economic Faculty of the National Autonomous
University of Mexico (UNAM) recently reported that in the last year Mexican
wages had lost 10.1% of their purchasing power. A worker earning a minimum
wage of 42.15 pesos per day could only buy about one fifth of what could be
bought in 1987, the center’s report said.
The Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Mérida, Yucatán, Emilio Berlié Belauzarán, called the
increase “adequate,” arguing that at this time the most important thing is
to save jobs, not raise wages.
President Fox and
Secretary of Labor Carlos Abascal took a similar position, defending the
Commission’s small wage increase as a way to protect employment.
MEXICAN
BUSINESS GROUP SAYS AFL-CIO THREATENS MEXICO
The AFL-CIO has
been infiltrating Mexican labor unions, supporting organization in Mexican
corporations, and threatens Mexico’s economic and political interests,
according to Víctor Zorrilla, president of the Nuevo Leon branch of COPARMEX,
the Mexican Employers Association.
Zorrilla claims
that the AFL-CIO works against the interests of both Mexican employers and
workers, since its only aim is to keep business and jobs in the United States.
In a statement to
the press delivered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon on January 13, Zorrilla painted a
picture of a nefarious alliance of the AFL-CIO, independent “leftist”
Mexican labor unions such as the Authentic Labor Front (FAT) and the National
Union of Workers (UNT), Jesuit
priests and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Coahuila working together to
undermine the Mexican economy.
Zorrilla told reporters that COPARMEX would join with two pro-government labor federations, Mexican Confederation of Workers (CTM) and the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), to block the path of the AFL-CIO.
Francisco Hernández Juárez, one of the leaders of the UNT, explained that that federation has an alliance with the AFL-CIO, but does not receive funding or take orders from it. The UNT, he said, acts in solidarity with the U.S. federation.
Historically, the
state of Nuevo Leon’s labor movement has been dominated by
company-controlled unions called “sindicatos blancos,” and to a lesser
extent by the government-controlled unions such as the CTM and CROC. Nuevo
Leon employers, pro-government unions, and newspapers had earlier denounced
the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM), in which the AFL-CIO and
other union organizations participate, accusing it of infiltrating Mexico and
undermining its economy. In fact, what the conservative Nuevo Leon employers
object to is the idea that the FAT or UNT might organize workers into unions
that represente workers in the great industrial plants there, and do so with
the active solidarity of U.S. labor unions. The corporations fear the creation
of an international alliance that could challenge the power across borders.
WORKERS
WIN INTERNAL ELECTION FOR INDEPENDENT UNION COMMITTEE AT ALCOA
Over the
past two weeks, workers at ALCOA have been engaged in an intense, and
ultimately successful, struggle to elect an independent union committee.
Because of its importance, we are reproducing the series of alerts
issued by the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s
(Border Workers Committee - CFO.) –Ed.
[Feb. 26., 2002] On Friday, February 22nd, a membership meeting of Maquiladora de Componentes Eléctricos (Macoelmex), Plant #2 elected a new democratic union committee and voted out the corrupt leader Ricardo de los Reyes and his advisor Leocadio Hernández, head of the CTM in Piedras Negras. Macoelmex is located at the border city of Piedras Negras, México, and is owned by Alcoa Inc.
De los Reyes
and Leocadio left the meeting when they realized the overwhelmingly lack of
support they had. Outside, members of the Border Committee of Workers (Comité
Fronterizo de Obrer@s--CFO) and Amparo Reyes, a worker from Macoelmex’s
Plant #1, were taking photographs to collect evidence. The CFO has been
supporting the Alcoa workers in Ciudad Acuña and Piedras Negras in their
fight for labor rights.
At approximately
6:30 p.m., Leocadio Hernández and Jesús Muñoz, the leader of Plant #1
ordered some thugs to go after Amparo and Margarita Ramírez. Some women beat
and forced Amparo down on the floor, but she was able to prevent them from
taking a camera she had. Another woman beat Margarita in the forefront while
some young men took the video camera she had and stole the cassette. Margarita
was able to recover the camera. Leocadio has a number of pending lawsuits for
beating some men himself, including a journalist. Amparo and Margarita are
doing fine. They filed a lawsuit against Leocadio Hernández and went to
different media outlets to denounce to attack.
The workers at
Plant #2 have been requesting that the heads of Human Resources stop the
management’s explicit support for the “dethroned” leaders. In the last
weeks different managers have shamelessly voiced their support for De los
Reyes and Leocadio. Those two leaders were extremely compliant to Alcoa’s
slashing of benefits during the contract revision last January.
On Monday 25th elected union member Bruno Meléndez was injured in the head by other thugs inside Plant #2. He was sent to the hospital but he is recovering after several stitches. Furthermore, at noon Alcoa fired Amparo Reyes, Adrián García, Zulema Hinojosa, Ana Montalvo, Oscar Duarte and Samuel Villanueva from Plant #1 after Alcoa halted activities in several lines with the sole purpose of allowing Jesús Muñoz and Leocadio Hernández to gather some workers at the patio and order a few followers to force the six workers out of the plant. By obeying the orders of a corrupt leader who faces criminal charges, Alcoa even violated norms when it permitted the thugs to walk through the lines to grab Oscar Duarte by the neck and force him out, while other women forced Amparo to leave the facility. Alcoa’s guards covered the thugs’ actions.
The proven and open intromission of Alcoa in internal union affairs is totally unacceptable. The retaliation against the workers is because the company and the CTM are afraid to lose control of the Alcoa union in both plants. Macoelmex’s general director Paulino Navarro himself is putting pressure on Carlos Briones, the new Secretary General of the union to prevent him from refusing the “advisory services” of Leocadio Hernández (meaning corruption and betrayal of workers’ rights) or of severing the affiliation of the Alcoa union with the CTM.
What is at stake is
the independence of the most important union in the city of Piedras Negras.
The workers keep
calm and confident, but alert because the thugs are looking for any
opportunity to provoke them. The workers demand from Alcoa’s executives in
Franklin, Tennessee; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; New York City; and Piedras
Negras, Mexico the following:
· Immediate reinstatement of the six workers unjustly fired. Five of the fired workers were doing their job as usual when they were forced out, and Adrián was among the people gathered at the patio with permission.
· No more reprisals against workers and a halt to Alcoa’s complicity in repressive actions. On May 2000 in Ciudad Acuña, Robert S. Hughes, CEO Alcoa Fujikura Ltd., gave his personal assurances to a big group of Mexican Alcoa workers that the company would not take reprisals against them. Amparo Reyes also met Mr. Hughes and Alain Belda, CEO Alcoa Inc., in Pittsburgh at the 2000 Annual Shareholders Meeting.
· Stop the open interference of Alcoa in internal union affairs or with labor authorities.
· Respect the new union committee and its decisions regarding affiliation.
· Full abiding and honoring of Alcoa’s own Vision, Principles and Values 2001, especially the chapter named “Our Values and Human Rights”, section Freedom of Association, which clearly states: “We recognize and respect the freedom of association of individual Alcoans to join, or refrain from joining, legally authorized associations or organizations.”
·
Clean Record of Fired Workers, But Alcoa Says it “has to
follow union orders”
[Feb.
26, 2002] The six workers who were forced out from Macoelmex Plant #1
yesterday by thugs commanded by CTM’s Leocadio Hernández went this morning
to the plant as usual since the company did not give them a reason for firing
them (see: Alcoa Obedient to Corrupt Union Fires Six Workers; Aids Thugs to
Beat Democratic Workers in Piedras Negras, released today at 9:00 a.m.). After
a while, they were allowed to go inside the plant’s offices where Alcoa’s
lawyer María Elena Cavazos, who is based in Monterrey, México, and other
human resources managers tried to convince the workers to accept a severance
payment in exchange for not asking to get their jobs back.
The
lawyer urged them to sign a voluntary resignation, saying that the amount of
severance offered was bigger than customary. She also offered a letter of
recommendation, but warned that her offer was only for that moment, not later.
The managers also told the workers that after having seen the files it was
clear that their records were clean. “We do not have anything against
you”, they said, but “we have to follow union orders”. They added that
the CTM had sent a memo to the
company requesting the dismissal of the six people. The workers asked for a
copy of the memo, but the managers did not show it.
Alcoa
was accomplice of a wrong process, according to the union statutes: there was
no previous announcement of the meeting that took place on Monday 25 in Plant
#1; no agenda for the meeting; no voting to expel the six workers from the
union; lack of mediation to address the alleged wrongdoing; the Alcoa, despite
being aware of all those irregularities, validated the expulsion even though
it recognizes that the six workers have a good record in the job.
This afternoon, the CFO has been contacting several city, state and
labor authorities, and request them to set up a meeting today to address the
current situation, and to present them with a proposal to reach an agreement
among the management, the new union committee, the CFO, and the authorities.
The workers inside the plant are still deciding whether to call a new
membership meeting this evening. They are inviting Julia Quiñonez to attend
the meeting and formally ask her to become the advisor for the new union
committee. The challenge right now is how to assure her attendance while
avoiding provocation by Alcoa and the CTM.
Update
#3: New election at Alcoa plant called for March 4
Released
Friday, March 1, 2002, 11:00 a.m.
The new, democratic union
committee at Alcoa Plant #2 in Piedras Negras conceded today to a plan sought
by local CTM officials, under which a new election for the plant's union
committee will be held next Monday, March 4.
The agreement was formalized in the presence of local labor
authorities.
Workers at the plant had
already elected this committee last Friday, Feb. 22, by an overwhelming
majority at a meeting of their general assembly. Later that day, two women
workers at the plant were beaten on the order of Leocadio Hernandez, head of
the CTM in Piedras Negras. The following Monday, Feb. 25, company officials
let several of Leocadio's goons into the plant, where they beat up one of the
members of the new committee, causing a head injury. Also on Monday, Alcoa
fired six workers without cause at the request of the CTM, using the
"exclusion clause," which permits the union to ask thecompany to
fire certain workers. The Mexican Supreme Court recently handed down a
decision declaring the application of that clause illegal.
Alcoa Plants #1 and #2 in
Piedras Negras each employ approximately 2,000 workers. The union local at
Plant #1 is affiliated with the CTM, and Alcoa maintains that the collective
bargaining agreement it has signed with that local covers both plants. The new
union committee in Plant #2 is fighting for its right to choose its own union
affiliation.
Alcoa and the CTM have
been dragging their feet in an attempt to avoid recognizing the new union
committee. The backing they have received from local labor authorities has
left the new committee with no choice but to agree to a new election, in which
workers at the plant will be asked to decide once again between two slates,
one of which consists of the committee that won on Friday. The opposing slate
was hastily assembled and is headed
up by Ricardo de los
Reyes, the former leader of the plant committee who was unseated by last
Friday's election, who is a close associate of Leocadio Hernaández.
Monday's voting will be by
secret ballot, with the election administered for each of the plant's
production lines in turn during working hours, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Workers
at the plant are on high alert, suspecting that Alcoa and the CTM are cooking
up a way to manipulate the results or take action against the members of the
new committee.
Update #4
Released Monday, March 4, 02, 9:20 a.m. CST
Workers from inside Alcoa Plant #2 in the city of
Piedras Negras, Mexico report that less than one hour ago, right before the
start of the election for the plant's union committee, Alcoa called its
supervisors to a meeting and ordered them to ask the workers to vote for the
CTM slate otherwise the company will flee. Today's voting is supposed to be by
secret ballot, with the election administered for each of the plant's
production lines in turn during working hours,
beginning at 9:00 a.m. and finishing by 9:00 p.m. Avote counting would take
place at that time and preliminary results would beavailable by midnight.
Official results would be announced tomorrow morningat the plant.
Workers at the plant had
already elected this committee last Friday, Feb. 22, by an overwhelming
majority at a meeting of their general assembly. Outside the meeting, however
two CFO women workers, Amparo Reyes and Margarita Ramírez were beaten on the
order of Leocadio Hernández, head of the CTM in Piedras Negras. The following
Monday, Feb. 25, company officials let several of Leocadio's goons into the
plant, where they beat up one of the members of the new committee, causing a
head injury. At the adjacent Alcoa plant (Subaru), a worker named Romeo was
also beat up and then heldcaptive by the management during three hours until
he was forced to resign.
Also on Monday, Alcoa
fired six workers without cause at Plant #1, including Amparo, at the request
of the CTM, using the "exclusion clause," which permits the union to
ask the company to fire certain workers. The Mexican Supreme Court recently
handed down a decision declaring the application of that clause illegal.
Alcoa Plants #1 and #2 in
Piedras Negras each employ approximately 2,000 workers. The union local at
Plant #1 is affiliated with the CTM, and Alcoa maintains that the collective
bargaining agreement it has signed with that local covers both plants. The new
union committee in Plant #2 is fighting for its right to choose its own union
affiliation.
Alcoa and the CTM have
been dragging their feet in an attempt to avoid recognizing the new union
committee. The backing they have received from local labor authorities left
the new committee with no choice but to agree to a new election, in which
workers at the plant were supposed to be asked to decide once again between
two slates, one of which consists of the committee that won on Feb. 22. The
opposing slate was hastily assembled and was headed up by Ricardo de los
Reyes, the former leader of the plant committee who was unseated by last
Friday's election, who is a close associate of Leocadio Hernández.
Alcoa and the CTM were
over the weekend cooking up a way to manipulate the results or take action
against the members of the new committee. In fact, on Friday, March 2, three
men approached the teenager sister of one committee member and asked her to
get into a car. She refused to do so. On Saturday, the CTM reportedly
distributed 20,000 leaflets blaming Julia Quiñonez for the closing of other
maquiladoras in the city, and urging to "vote for De los Reyes slate
otherwise the company will flee."
The Comité Fronterizo de
Obrer@s (CFO - Border Committee of Women Workers) works in support of
rank-and-file maquiladora workers in six cities along the Mexico-U.S. border.
With the support of the CFO, thousands of maquiladora workers have won
substantial wage hikes, improvements in working conditions, severance payments
that comply with Mexican law, and restoration of benefits illegally withdrawn
by maquiladora firms. The CFO's office is located in the border town of
Piedras Negras in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. (AFL)
provides design, engineering and manufacturing of electrical distribution
systems for vehicles. AFL manufactures in Mexico wire harnesses for Ford,
Volkswagen, Subaru, Harley-Davidson and other automakers. Its maquiladora
operations in Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña employ more than 14,000 factory
workers. AFL is a unit of Alcoa Inc., the world's largest producer of
aluminum. Headquartered in New York City and Pittsburgh, Alcoa has 142,000
employees in 37 countries.
Update #5
Released
Monday, March 4, 02, 6:45 p.m. CST
In a quiet state of tension, the first shift at Alcoa
Plant #2 finished voting by secret ballot for the plant's union committee.
Meanwhile, after being contacted by institutional shareholders who advocate
for the workers, an Alcoa U.S. executive responded via fax that the company
"does not take a position in elections [for] union representation."
The shareholders had inquired whether the Mexican management could make an
announcement over the plant's public address system that workers could vote as
they wished, without fear of losing their jobs.
Shortly before the voting
began, however, Paulino Navarro, head of Alcoa's operation in Piedras Negras,
instructed his line managers to tell the workers to vote for the CTM slate in
the election, or else the company will move elsewhere. Today's election is by
secret ballot, with the voting administered for each of the plant's production
lines in turn during working hours. Vote counting will take place immediately
after the plant closes at 9:00 p.m., with preliminary results expected by
midnight. The official election results are to be announced at the plant
tomorrow morning.
Mexico's former president, Ernesto Zedillo, was recently appointed to Alcoa's Board of Directors. Paul O'Neill, Alcoa's CEO from 1987 until 2000, left the company to become secretary of the treasury in the Bush Administration. Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. (AFL) division designs, engineers, and manufactures electrical distribution systems for motor vehicles. In Mexico, AFL manufactures wire harnesses for Ford, Volkswagen, Subaru, Harley-Davidson, and other firms. Its maquiladora operations in Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña employ more than 14,000 production workers.
Update
#6
Released Tuesday,
March 5, 02, 11:00 a.m. CST
By an overwhelming majority, workers at Alcoa Plant #2 in
Piedras Negras have reaffirmed their support for the democratic union
committee they had previously elected on Feb. 22. The vote of 892 to 592 (with
26 ballots annulled) showed the determination of workers at the plant to stand
up to a powerful campaign of negative propaganda and intimidation by Alcoa
management and the CTM union confederation.
In a tense 15-hour journey
of line-by-line voting by secret ballot, the workers were able to maintain
their unity, reaffirming their Feb. 22 vote, where the same committee had been
elected at a plantwide general assembly meeting, unseating the local's
previous CTM-affiliated leadership. The lopsided result refutes Alcoa's claim
that only a few "troublemakers" had been "infiltrated" by
the CFO.
Headlines in today's
edition of the main newspaper in Piedras Negras read, "Julia Quiñonez's
candidate wins union election." The voting was complete by midnight and
the results were legally validated by the president of the labor conciliation
board in Piedras Negras, as well as by the CTM's Leocadio Hernández, the two
candidates, and two witnesses. The Mexican Labor Department's director for the
state of Coahuila (where Piedras Negras is located) served as an observer
during the entire process.
from
the Jalisco Euzkadi Solidarity Committee
[Jan,
20, 2002] On Wednesday, January 16, trade unions, community organizations and
independent political parties gathered together to build solidarity for the
workers of the Euzkadi union, who have been on strike since December 16 of
last year, after the tire plant where they work in Salto, Jalisco, was closed
illegally. As a result of the corporate intransigence of the transnational
German firm, Continental Tire, 1,164 workers have lost their jobs.
This
act, illegal under the state's labor law, forms part of the evident social and
economic crisis that prevails in Jalisco. The state government has unjustly
and openly sided with the company since the beginning of the conflict. This
was clear when Abraham Gonzalez Uyeda, the minister of economic development
and a businessman himself, coldly and shamelessly announced the state's
manipulated unemployment statistics, treating the dismissal of the Euzkadi
workers as an accomplished fact by including them in the total of 27,000
unemployed.
The
state's governor, Francisco Ramírez Acuña, ignores the citizens affected by
rising unemployment. Ramírez Acuña only listens to local and foreign
entrepreneurs, who have him at their beck and call. Minister Gonzalez Uyeda
categorized last December's unemployment figures as being "atypical"
[!], stating "The trend towards rising employment in the state was
interrupted by extraordinary circumstances, including the dismissal of 1,200
workers from the Euzkadi tire factory. The closure of the plant indirectly led
to the loss of a further 3,000 jobs, which leaves us with around 4,500 people
who were left without work simply because of the loss of this plant."
None of this withstanding, the minister of economic development is unconcerned
by the impact of the closure of the tire plant on the local economy in El
Salto.
Neither
the local National Action Party (PAN) government nor the federal government
are worried about preserving plant equipment or the labor force. In his recent
trip to Lagos de Moreno, last Saturday, Vicente Fox assured that "[his
administration's] priority was to save jobs ...." Yet there is no
evidence of anything being done to deal with this "priority," as was
made clear by the closure of the paper plant in Atenquique, where the owners
arbitrarily closed the plant with impunity, thanks to the apathy and
indifference of the local and federal government authorities. Here in Jalisco,
we who work do not enjoy a government by and for the people; rather, we have a
government by and for business.
Statistics
showing an unemployment rate in Jalisco that is below the national average are
highly questionable.
We believe many plants and maquiladoras have been closed, leaving tens of thousands of the state's workers to fill the rows of unemployed who join the "informal economy," or who migrate to our neighbor to the north, or who survive through the degradation and violence of delinquency and drug addiction. Unemployment has become critical and is reaching alarming levels, yet the authorities have not developed any kind of contingency plan to preserve plant equipment, much less defend the rights of illegally fired workers.
The trade unions, community organizations and independent political parties who have formed this Support Committee are aware that this employer offensive forms part of a larger neoliberal strategy to dismantle the unions that defend workers rights and the gains they have made in order to subordinate them completely to the interests of capital.
Given the open attack on the Federal Labor Law by Continental Tire, which has affected the families of 4,500 workers, this Support Committee demands that the federal authorities at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security abide strictly by the law, recognizing the legality and legitimacy of the strike, convoked by the National Revolutionary Union of the Euzkadi Workers and declared this afternoon at 16:00 hours. We reject management's accusations that it was the union's intransigency that forced the plant to close, since this is clearly not the case.
We
demand that Francisco Ramírez Acuña intervene immediately and impartially to
assure that the company respects the rights of workers and that he support the
just petition that the plant be reopened, since it is of importance to the
economic and social development of the community of El Salto, Jalisco.
We call on all community and popular organizations, trade unions and political parties to join the Support Committee, whose plan of action, in general terms, is presented below:
•
Lodge a formal complaint with the International Labor Organization,
denouncing the illegal closure of the Euzkadi plant
•
Carry out a signature campaign to build solidarity for the Euzkadi union
•
Petition the governor of Jalisco to personally meet with the Euzkadi
union
•
Post statements informing the general population of Continental Tire's
arbitrary acts and calling for support for the workers and their families
•
Demand that federal and state authorities act impartially in the
conflict.
•
Send letters and telegrams to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
and to Ramírez Acuña's administration demanding an immediate resolution of the
conflict
•
Participate in demonstrations and the caravan of the Euzkadi workers to Mexico City
•
Paint slogans on the walls
•
Pass out flyers
•
Obtain financial support through donations for the workers and their
families
Sincerely,
Support Committee for the Euzkadi Workers and their Families
REPORT
FROM THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
This
article was written by Carl Rosen, President of District 11, Jonathan Kissam,
Secretary of District 2, and Robin Alexander, Director of International Labor
Affairs for the Pittsburgh-based United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of
America (UE).
We had the good fortune to recently attend the second meeting of the World
Social Forum which took place in early February in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
We were part of a delegation of approximately fifty people which included
representatives of Jobs with Justice and many wonderful community based
organizations from throughout the United States. In this article we will
attempt to give you a sense of what happened while we were there, share some of
the things we learned, and explain why we think it was important.
The World Social Forum was organized to coincide with the meeting of the World
Economic Forum which normally occurs in Davos, Switzerland, but which was
re-located at the last moment to New York.
The World Economic Forum is a meeting of bankers, billionaires, and their
friends in government and industry who paid a whopping $25,000 to attend.
Meanwhile, on the streets of New York, some 15,000 protesters found themselves
herded in groups with their passage severely restricted by heavily armed police.
As the corporate elite hobnobbed and schemed at the World Economic Forum, amidst
protests and heavy security, a very different meeting took place in the city of
Porto Alegre under the slogan "Another World is Possible." The
second annual World Social Forum brought together over 50,000 representatives
from all sectors of civil society - trade unions, community organizations,
women's groups, indigenous peoples, students, environmentalists, etc. - to
discuss and debate proposals for how to fight corporate globalization and build
another, better world. This effort was intended as an open movement, emphasizing
the necessity of a multiplicity of forces against globalization.
To give you a sense of the scale of the meeting, these are the statistics which
were provided to us. There were:
51,300 participants
22,000 women
4,909 organizations
131 countries
11,600 young people
2400 journalists from 48 countries
1000 volunteers every day
2,500 children
Of the 15,230 registered delegates (those who were present on behalf of
organizations) 2670 were trade unionists and 800 were educators.
Following an insignificant presence last year at the first World Social Forum,
this year the United States had the sixth largest delegation - 406 delegates -
following Brazil, Italy, Argentina, France, and Uruguay.
Forum events were scattered throughout the city of Porto Alegre and a newspaper
which was approximately an inch thick laid out the schedule for each day in
English and Portuguese. The events consisted of meetings of three sizes
(conferences, seminars and workshops), and were organized around four themes:
1) The production of wealth and social reproduction
2) Access to wealth and sustainability
3) Civil society and the public arena
4) Political power and ethics in the new society
In addition to the workshops and plenaries there were a variety of other
activities and events. An initial peace march led tens of thousands of
participants through the streets of Porto Alegre to an open air stadium where
the opening ceremony took place. In addition to dancing, speeches,
etc, the opening included a live video link-up with protestors in New
York.
Later in the week another large march loudly denounced the FTAA, and throughout
the week smaller marches and rallies took place on a variety of subjects ranging
from women’s rights and a defense of midwives to protests against the attack
on the CUT’s office (more on this below). One of our favorite parts of
the marches were the “radical cheerleaders,” young women from Canada who
denounced war and corporate globalization with great energy and wit.
“Testimonials” by such figures as Noam Chomsky, Rigoberta Menchu, Susan
George, and many others were scheduled during the course of the week, as were
various cultural events. In addition, a “Debt Tribunal” took testimony
for several days from people from various countries about the problems
associated with the IMF and World Bank and the impact that debt had on their
countries and their lives.
Part of what made the World Social Forum so remarkable was that it took place in
Porto Alegre, a coastal city of 1.2 million people, very far to the south, and
fairly close to Argentina.
Porto Alegre is governed by the Workers' Party which has run the city government
for 12 years. The party's candidates have won by large majorities because they
have proved that the left can govern. The city has seen falling crime rates,
improved health and education, and a noticeably more equal distribution of
income than other Brazilian cities. They have cleaned up corruption
and waste, and instituted a participatory budget process that is a model of
transparency and democratic process. For the last two years the Workers' Party
has also held the governorship of the state, Rio Grande do Sul.
It was wonderful to be in a place where it felt like the government was working
for the people rather than against them. This was evident during the
course of the week, in some ways which were obvious. Upon arriving at the
Porto Alegre airport, we had the very welcome experience of finding a whole
office devoted to providing information and solving problems. The PT logo
was all over Forum materials, signs and banners, clearing confirming what we had
been told: that both the City and State governments had generously supported the
event. One other indication was that some of the large meetings took place
in the military gymnasium - something that would be unthinkable in the United
States.
There were other government activities which were even more significant,
although less obvious. We had the opportunity to meet with two
representatives of the city office which coordinates a participatory budget
process. We learned that the Workers' Party (PT) has turned over a
significant portion of the city's budget to neighborhood assemblies, which are
open to all, and which elect delegates to a city-wide budget council every year.
For example, in 2001, 21,805 citizens, or about 1.5% of the city's population,
participated in the process.
We also gained some understanding of the landless workers’ movement - MST
- a million person movement of displaced rural workers who carry out
direct-action land reform by seizing unused land held by wealthy landowners and
establishing co-operative farms. The Movement of the Landless is the
largest and most successful land reform movement in the world, having settled
300,000 families on millions of acres of land. In one cooperative
that Jonathan and some others visited, one hundred families farmed 5,400 acres
together and shared the proceeds. Nobody gets rich, but no one goes hungry - as
do millions of other Brazilians who remain landless and unemployed.
Some of the best things were unanticipated. By speaking to one’s
neighbor in a food line or a workshop there was the possibility of fascinating
conversations with people from around the world. In that way I met a
film maker from England, a labor leader from Spain and an activist from South
Africa who worked with workers in the informal sector. At a press
conference Robin wound up having a chance encounter with a physics professor who
worked with the peace movement in Pakistan. We spent over an hour in what
was for me a fascinating conversation. At the end of the
conversation she asked him what he hoped activists in the U.S. could do.
He responded that we must ensure that it is the United Nations, not the United
States which is responsible for keeping peace in Afghanistan, and that we must
fight against the international financial institutions such as the IMF and World
Bank.
Another unexpected delight was the friendliness of the strangers. One
cultural element we loved and think we should immediately start making full use
of is the thumb’s up gesture - accompanied by a great smile - that ended many
exchanges.
This is not to say that everything was perfect. For example, many of
the labor sessions we attended were quite dry, and there was a serious lack of
representation by women on the panels. However, in one of the more
interesting panels, a representative of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
challenged the labor movement to criticize itself and to honestly discuss
differences with direct action and other groups in order to work together in a
united fashion. She pointed to the criticism they had received from
their members after the march in Quebec, where young people turned to climb the
hill and tear down the fence while the labor movement continued along its
original route. “What difference would it have made if we had all turned
to climb that hill?” she demanded.
Another weakness was the lack of participation by trade unionists from the US.
As in Quebec, there was participation from the AFL-CIO (Linda Chavez Thompson
and representatives of the Solidarity Center were present in Porto Alegre), and
some members of activist locals came through Jobs with Justice.
However, we saw no indication that the affiliates had exerted any effort to send
representatives, and we believe that the UE representatives were the only union
delegates from the United States who were officially representing their union.
It seemed to us that during the Forum two issues were of overwhelming
importance. The first was the role of the international financial
institutions and the problem of crushing external debt. There was a
lot of discussion of the recent economic collapse of Argentina, and while we
were there the news reported demonstrations by the middle class protesting the
freezing of bank assets and then by the unemployed demanding jobs.
This underscored the point that the main issue for workers in the Global South
is the debt their countries owe to the World Bank and International Monetary
Fund (IMF), and the way those institutions manipulate the debt to enforce the
rules of corporate globalization.
There was also much discussion of neoliberal economics and structural adjustment
policies. Although these terms are foreign to many Americans, we see
the same policies all over the world: downsizing, privatization schemes, and a
budget-cutting frenzy. We learned of the intimate connection
between these policies and free trade, where the IMF and World bank force the
countries of the Global South to base their economies on exports, turning them
into low wage havens for transnational capital. It made it very clear to
us that it is in the direct interest of U.S. workers to support the struggles
against the IMF, World Bank and for debt relief.
Being in Brazil also brought home the importance of internationalism and
international solidarity in another, more concrete way due to an extremely
disturbing event which transpired while we were there - an attack by ten
uniformed men on the offices of the CUT, Brazil's largest and most progressive
trade union federation.
At about two in the morning on February 2nd the night security officer at the
CUT building in Sao Paulo was ordered to open the door by men dressed in civil
police uniforms. He was then locked in a room while a truck without license
plates was driven into the CUT's parking area. The men, armed with machine guns
and other weapons, stole thirty computers, a safe and numerous documents from
the building which houses the CUT's national headquarters, the Sao Paulo office
as well as offices of many other federations affiliated with the CUT.
The attack is the latest in a series of crimes affecting the CUT, including the
murder of dozens of CUT trade unionists. For example, Aldanir dos Santos, a
member of the CUT's national executive committee was brutally murdered last
December. Other recent assassinations have included high ranking elected leaders
of the CUT's close ally, the Workers' Party (PT): Sen. Toninho, mayor of
Campinas, and Celso Daniel, Mayor of Santo André and Lula's campaign manager.
None of these cases has yet been solved. (Luis Inacio Lula da Silva who is known
simply as Lula is running for president once again in elections which are
scheduled for October of this year. As you may know, as president of the
metalworkers union from the industrial area around Sao Paulo, he was a leader of
the strikes in the late 80's which involved over 3 million workers and marked
the re-birth of the trade union movement. Along with other trade unionists he
went on to found the Workers Party (PT), which now governs various cities and
states and has elected dozens of representatives to the Brazilian Congress).
Although six of the computers were recovered and some arrests occurred, the CUT
does not view this as a simple case of robbery, stating that it has "the
characteristics of an act which has been planned and directed. It is hardly a
coincidence that this has occurred during the World Social Forum, of which the
CUT is one of the organizing bodies." The CUT also notes that the robbery
occurred on the night following the approval of a national strike to protest
labor legislation which would undercut rights guaranteed by Brazil's federal
labor law.
It was not until we were in Brazil that we finally understood the broader
picture, and that this attack has implications that go way beyond the CUT or
even Brazil. Our time in Porto Alegre gave us some sense of what it would mean
if the PT were successful in winning. But if you think that this only affects
the people of Brazil, think about the implications for our hemisphere if the PT
wins the presidency of Brazil and the role that Brazil will play in determining
whether the FTAA is approved! In our globalized world, what happens in Brazil
will affect all of us.
We ask that you show solidarity with the brothers and sisters of the CUT by
sending a letter protesting the attack on their office and asking for a rigorous
and prompt investigation. It is important that our governments know that we are
watching! Following this article is the letter of protest sent by
UE’s national president, John H. Hovis, Jr. We ask that you use it
as a model or draft your own.
Upon our return to the United States a few weeks ago, we have tried to reflect
on the meaning of the World Social Forum. It made us recall the
story of the blind men and the elephant - one touches its tail and concludes
that it like a rope, another its leg and concludes that it is like a tree.
Was it simply an amazing smorgasbord or was it something more?
Kevin Murray, from Grassroots international explained it this way when he was
trying to convince people of the importance of attending: “From dawn to
dusk, those at the WSF will attend workshops, conferences, cultural events and
demonstrations. They will find kindred souls from dozens of
like-minded organizations and will learn about their work. Some of those
contacts will turn into future collaboration. Everyone in attendance will get a
first-hand look at the movement for global justice in all of its diversity and
difference.”
He was right. For us as a union it was wonderful! We were able
to listen to representatives of the CUT and PT, see how impressive they were,
and begin to understand why Brazil may soon have a socialist government.
We finally connected with the CUT’s metal workers’ union, and had a chance
to spend time with our friends from the FAT in Mexico, from the CGT in France,
and from various unions from Quebec and Canada. We met other trade
unionists, community activists and organizers for the first time.
And we learned some things that we will bring back home to help us to build a
stronger movement here.
But Porto Alegre was more than that. Marc Cooper, writing for the
Nation, listed four areas of consensus. He observed that there was
“A general recognition that the time has come to reposition the movement in
positive, affirmative terms--a need to move from purely exposing and protesting
to proposing and solving.” In addition he said, the “crisis of
legitimacy generated by the Battle of Seattle was only temporarily mitigated by
9/11. It's time to resume the offensive against the WTO.”
Third, he noted a strong consensus in opposition to the FTAA. And
finally, the need to envision and articulate an alternative economic
architecture to replace the IMF and World bank.
The Nation was also right. But Porto Alegre was more than that as
well. In its final declaration the document is sub-titled “Resistance to
neoliberalism, war and militarism; for peace and social justice” and its 16
points are broader and more ambitious than those identified in the Nation, and
more clearly linked to direct action.
But personally, on top of everything else, what we took from Porto Alegre was
renewed hope. It is a hope inspired by all of the young people who
were there; by the friendliness, helpfulness, and enthusiasm; by the respect for
difference; that we were part of a larger delegation which represented the best
of the labor and community movements in the United States and that we were all
part of a much larger, global movement in which everyone was working for a
better world....
In short, that another world is possible!
We
ask that you show solidarity with the brothers and sisters of the CUT by sending
a letter protesting the attack on their office and asking for a rigorous and
prompt investigation. It is important that our governments know that we are
watching! Below you will find the letter of protest sent by UE’s
national president, John H. Hovis, Jr. We ask that you use it as a
guide (you will have to modify the first paragraph) or draft your own.
The e-mails and fax contact information is as follows:
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President: <> Fax: 011 55 61 411 2222
Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State <secretary@state.gov> Fax:
202-647-2283
Juan Somavia, Director-general of the ILO <> Fax: 011 41-22-799-8533
If you wish to send us a copy, <international@ranknfile-ue.org> or
412-471-8999, we will forward it to the CUT.
February 12, 2002
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President
Federative Republic of Brazil
Via Fax: 011 55 61 411 2222
Dear President Cardoso:
On behalf of the officers and members of the United Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers of America (UE) I am writing to express our displeasure at the
lack of a satisfactory response to the recent attack on the offices of the
Central Unica dos Trabalhadores (CUT).
We have been advised that at approximately two o’clock in the morning of
February 2, 2002 the offices of the CUT were broken into by ten men dressed in
civil police uniform. They reportedly removed thirty computers, a safe and
numerous documents from the building which houses the CUT’s national
headquarters in Sao Paulo, its Sao Paolo office, as well as the offices of other
federations affiliated to the CUT.
As I am sure you are aware, this raid is the latest in a series of crimes
affecting the CUT, including the murder of dozens of CUT trade unionists.
Although we were pleased to learn that some of the computers have been recovered
and arrests have occurred, we are concerned that this matter may be dismissed as
a simple robbery by local officials.
Whatever the ultimate conclusion, the recent assasinations of trade
union leaders, such as Aldanir dos Santos, a member of the CUT’s national
executive committee who was brutally murdered last December, and Celso Daniel,
the Mayor of Santo André who was Lula’s campaign manager, certainly convey an
ominous message and suggest that a more serious investigation is warranted.
We ask that you take all possible measures to ensure both that a prompt and
vigorous investigation is conducted and that future violence directed against
leaders of the trade union movement and the Workers Party is halted.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
John.
H. Hovis, Jr.
General
President
cc: Colin
Powell, U.S. Secretary of State
Juan Somavia, Director-general of the ILO
END MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS, VOL. 7, NO. 2, FEB-March 2002