AUT: Han Young 10-16-98

[Eduardo Azmitia <lazmitia@xxxxxx>]

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>Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 17:55:08 -0700 (PDT)
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>From: Campaign for Labor Rights <clr@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: Han Young 10-16-98
>
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>HAN YOUNG UPDATE
>October 16, 1998
>
>[Information provided by staff of the Support Committee for Maquiladora
>Workers, who ask that activists seeking updates contact Campaign for Labor
>Rights: (541) 344-5410, <CLR@xxxxxxxxxxx>]
>
>In this alert:
>Background summary
>Han Young factory moved
>Hyundai contract with U.S. Army
>Consumer campaign targets Hyundai Motors
>Strikers remain strong
>Axiohm workers win appeal in Mexican court
>House resolution supports rights of Han Young workers
>Han Young worker goes to Korea
>East coast tour a success
>Action request: Continue leafleting
>
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>
>BACKGROUND SUMMARY
>
>Located in Tijuana, Mexico, the Han Young factory welds chassis for nearby
>Hyundai operations, where the chassis are assembled into tractor trailers
>("semi's"). Since June of 1997, workers at Han Young have been struggling to
>win representation for an independent union and to get management to bargain
>a new contract. Core issues are substandard wages (many skilled welders
>receive the equivalent of only $4 US / $5.70 a day Canadian for a 10- to
>11-hour shift) and life-threatening health and safety issues (totally
>inadequate safety equipment, lack of ventilation for toxic gases, having to
>stand in puddles of water while using high voltage equipment with frayed
>cables, decrepit cranes which drop their loads without warning or swing
>wildly out of control).
>
>A clear majority of the workers has voted three times to be represented by
>an independent union. The workers have stood firm in the face of armed
>thugs, bribes, firings, disinformation campaigns and a host of illegal
>actions by management and government officials in Mexico. The workers won
>certification of their union in January after a 26-day hunger strike, but
>management has refused to negotiate a contract with the independent October
>6 union. Since May 22 of this year, when the previous contract expired,
>virtually the entire regular workforce at Han Young has been on strike.
>
>Throughout this struggle, international pressure has remained strong. The
>two essential elements of international solidarity are: political pressure
>on the Mexican federal government to enforce its own labor law and economic
>pressure on Hyundai to use its considerable leverage with Han Young, which
>produces only for Hyundai.
>
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>
>HAN YOUNG FACTORY MOVED
>
>The Han Young factory was moved to another area of Tijuana in September. It
>seems clear that the original plan of Han Young management was to shut down,
>declare bankruptcy and fire the strikers without providing either the
>severance pay or strike pay required under Mexican law, while reopening
>clandestinely under a new name. For whatever reasons (perhaps because
>management found out that the workers knew of the scheme), they changed
>their plans. They opened the new plant but are continuing to operate it
>under the name of Han Young, while still using checks that still bear the
>old address to pay the skeleton crew of replacement workers, whose quality
>of production has been so poor that their product is still being rejected by
>Hyundai.
>
>Another  factor in the change of plan may have been the upcoming ministerial
>consultations on Han Young between Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and the
>Mexican Minister of Labor. Clearly, the Mexican government would have to
>authorize any such relocation which could cause significant questions being
>raised in these high-level consultations. On February 18, the National
>Administrative Office (the section of the U.S. Labor Department charged with
>overseeing U.S. concerns regarding enforcement of the NAFTA labor side
>accords) had held hearings on the Mexican government's failure to enforce
>its own laws covering health and safety and freedom of association. The
>NAO's reports on its findings called for consultations between the U.S.
>Secretary of Labor and the Mexican Minister of Labor. However, Mexico's
>Minister of Labor had never responded to Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman's
>two requests for a consultation. On October 8, there was an already
>scheduled meeting between the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the Canadian and
>Mexican Labor Ministers. Although the October 8 meeting was not a
>consultation on Han Young, the Han Young issue was put on the agenda because
>of the Mexican government's failure to respond to requests for a meeting.
>The Friday before the October 8 meeting, the Minister of Labor said that he
>would be willing to have ministerial consultations on Han Young. He said
>that the Labor Ministry was taking seriously the allegations and
>determinations of the NAO reports and was taking steps to resolve the
>situation. To date, no worker at Han Young has heard anything about the
>Mexican government taking such steps.
>
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>
>HYUNDAI CONTRACT WITH U.S. ARMY
>
>The Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers learned very recently that
>Hyundai Precision America, the division of the company which does business
>with Han Young, won a $49 million contract with the U.S. Army earlier this
>year to produce 7,780 CROPs (Container Roll-in/Out Platforms: flatbed
>carriers for armaments). The Hyundai/Army contract will add new incentives
>to Congressional Representatives who have been pushing for legislation
>stipulating that companies profiting from military contracts should be
>required to abide by labor and environmental laws. Even in the absence of
>such legislation, we should question why the military is choosing to do
>business - spending U.S. tax dollars - with a company which supports
>sweatshop practices. This is not the only contract which Hyundai has had
>with the military. Hyundai Precision America's total business in the U.S.
>(military and civilian) comes to about $200 million yearly. Sympathetic
>members of the U.S. House of Representatives are making inquiries about the
>contract and are looking at undertaking an investigation that would call
>into question whether Hyundai should continue to get such contracts,
>particularly given an environmental action pending against it and the fact
>that it doesn't pay U.S. minimum wage in Mexico.
>
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>
>CONSUMER CAMPAIGN TARGETS HYUNDAI MOTORS
>
>Ted Chung, CEO of Hyundai Precision America (based in San Diego, right
>across the border from Tijuana) will soon receive a thick envelope with one
>letter signed by 87 representatives of religious organizations and another
>letter signed by 156 representatives of community-based organizations. Both
>letters state the signers' support for a consumer campaign directed at
>Hyundai Motors because of the failure of Hyundai Precision America (another
>division of the South Korea-based Hyundai Group) to make its contractor Han
>Young in Tijuana abide by Mexican labor law and international labor rights
>standards.
>
>On September 19, activists in a number of U.S. and Canadian cities leafleted
>and picketed at Hyundai Motors dealerships, to send a message to the Hyundai
>Group that it had better clean up its act in Tijuana. We encourage local
>activists to continue their demonstrations at Hyundai dealerships. Your
>pressure is being felt! The Hyundai Group needs export sales of its cars to
>pull all divisions of the ailing company of their slump. According to one
>source, Hyundai Motors has started a new U.S. advertising campaign promoting
>a lifetime guarantee for roadside service. Hyundai owners could use such a
>guarantee. Last year, we learned that Hyundai cars had the highest rate of
>return of any car make, under California's consumer protection "lemon law."
>
>In our most recent alert, we included reports from demonstrations in San
>Francisco and Salt Lake City. Following are more reports from local
>committees which participated in the September 19 Day of Action. We will
>include other reports in subsequent alerts. All reports are subject to
editing.
>
>CHICAGO: Forty activists picketed and leafleted a Hyundai dealership in
>Chicago, protesting the company's complicity in suppressing the Han Young
>workers' union campaign in Tijuana, Mexico. Marching to the chants of "Labor
>Rights, Hyundai Wrongs," the group, consisting of individuals from the Labor
>Rights Task Force of the Nicaragua Solidarity Committee, Jobs with Justice,
>Democratic Socialists of America and several local unions, displayed a large
>banner showing support for the Han Young workers and their independent
>union. A highlight of the action was the encouragement from passing
>automobile and bus drivers responding to our sign, "Honk if you Hate
>Sweatshops." After taking a group photo in front of the dealership's main
>window, participants signed a letter to the CEO of Hyundai Precision America
>urging him to respect labor rights and compel Han Young to recognize the
>October 6 union. We plan to build on this momentum by scheduling more
>pickets at local dealerships and by continuing to pressure the Mexican
>Consulate to meet with us and discuss the situation.
>- Dan Graff, LRTF-NSC
>
>KNOXVILLE: Seventy people rallied in support of Han Young workers in front
>of Knoxville, Tennessee's only Hyundai dealership as part of the national
>day of action. TRA Imports, the site of the rally, is located along a busy
>commercial strip in affluent West Knoxville, where visible signs of protest
>are rare. A surprising number of passing cars honked in support of
>protesters with signs asking Hyundai to shape up their labor practices in
>Mexico and declaring that free trade is bad for Tennesseeans, Mexicans,
>Africans, children, women and so forth.
>
>The rally was organized by the Tennessee Industrial Renewal Network and
>brought attention to the upcoming "fast track" vote and publicized the
>struggle the Han young workers in Tijuana. Three speakers talked about the
>negative impact that free trade can have as evidenced by the Han Young
>situation, the threat posed by giving the president "fast track" trade
>negotiating authority and the immorality of politicians and businessmen who
>ignore basic human, worker and environmental rights in their quest for more
>trade. The protest was publicized before the fact in an article in a
>alternative weekly paper.
>
>Attending the rally were TIRN members from UNITE, IUE Local 796,
>Steelworkers, OPEIU, Grainmillers, SEIU, Teamsters, the Knoxville Area Labor
>Council, Jobs with Justice (Knoxville and Nashville), Highlander Center,
>Knoxville Ministerial Alliance, Commission on Religion in Appalachia, SICK,
>NOW, the Alliance for Hope (a student group) and other labor, community,
>religious and environmental organizations.
>
>Before the rally, a manager at TRA Imports tried to dissuade organizers from
>going through with plans. Although management at TRA Imports refused to
>contact their Hyundai supplier about the Han Young situation, TIRN has sent
>a letter and photo of the protest to Hyundai Precision in San Diego.
>- Cheryl Brown, TIRN
>
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>
>STRIKERS REMAIN STRONG
>
>The Han Young workers remain strong and unified, in spite of the economic
>hardships resulting from being on strike. Many are doing odd jobs and also
>rely on whatever money their wives, most of whom work in other local
>factories, can bring in. The strikers continue to maintain strong links with
>workers at other factories in the area, where there is strong interest in
>joining the independent October 6 union. International solidarity also has
>been important in maintaining the strikers' morale.
>
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>
>AXIOHM WORKERS WIN APPEAL IN MEXICAN COURT
>
>Workers at the Axiohm factory in Tijuana (which produces printer devices for
>ATM and lottery ticket machines) won an appeal in Mexican federal court on
>October 14. The Axiohm workers had voted to be represented by the October 6
>independent union founded by the Han Young workers. When the Axiohm workers
>submitted a contract to their employer, the Tijuana labor board said that
>the October 6 union didn't have to be recognized for negotiation purposes
>because another union might want to represent them, which was a patently
>absurd reason. The workers filed an appeal of this decision and their appeal
>has been upheld by the court. Technically, now the labor board should insist
>on negotiations between the company and the workers as represented by
>October 6 but so far the workers haven't heard a response from the labor
>board. The Axiohm workers are planning to participate in a binational
>demonstration but for obvious reasons can't release the date of the planned
>action.
>
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>
>HOUSE RESOLUTION SUPPORTS RIGHTS OF HAN YOUNG WORKERS
>
>On October 12, a resolution entered in the U.S. House by Rep. Zoe Lofgren of
>San Jose (CA), signed by Reps. Gephardt, Bonior, Filner, DeFazio, Kaptor,
>Brown, Sanders, Frank and others, called upon President Clinton to urge the
>Mexican federal government to intervene in the Han Young situation to bring
>about a resolution. As of this writing, we don't know the result of that
>resolution, which in any case sent a signal to Clinton regarding
>Congressional concern about this issue.
>
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>
>HAN YOUNG WORKER GOES TO KOREA
>
>In September, Han Young striker Miguel Sanchez Murillo went to Korea to give
>a presentation at an international conference organized by the Korean
>Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and met with the Hyundai workers union
>federation and other unions and non-governmental organizations. He was very
>impressed with the militancy of the Korean workers and their unions.
>
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>
>EAST COAST TOUR A SUCCESS
>
>Han Young striker Jaime Garcia Barron conducted an intense speaking tour
>along the U.S. East Coast from September 22 through October 3 - sometimes
>appearing in two cities a day. Tour venues included: Ithaca (NY), New York
>City, Springfield (MA), an interview in Hartford (CT), New Haven, Keene and
>Manchester (NH), Montpelier and Burlington/Colchester (VT), Providence (RI),
>Bucks County Community College (north of Philadelphia), the UNITE worker
>center in Philadelphia, a public presentation in Philadelphia, Rutgers
>University (New Brunswick, NJ), Baltimore (MD) and Washington, DC.
>
>In Washington, there were meetings with the AFL-CIO and a number of
>Congressional representatives and staffers, as well as a plenary
>presentation and workshop at the 50 Years Is Enough national conference
>(attended by approximately 400 people). A highlight of the tour was a press
>conference at the statehouse in Trenton (NJ), where the Han Young worker was
>the featured speaker. Governor Christine Whitman had returned a few days
>earlier from a trade delegation to Mexico. The Industrial Union Council of
>New Jersey hosted the press conference in order to present the Mexican
>workers' side of the story about labor right abuses under NAFTA.
>
>In all locations, Jaime Garcia received an enthusiastic welcome. Thanks to
>all of the local organizers who made this tour possible!!! Also on the tour
>were translator Alicia Schmidt Camacho and Trim Bissell, national
>coordinator of Campaign for Labor Rights, who arranged the itinerary.
>
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>
>ACTION REQUEST
>
>We are asking local committees to continue leafleting and picketing at
>Hyundai Motors dealerships. Please send us reports of your actions. For an
>organizing packet, which includes a leaflet master, contact Campaign for
>Labor Rights at (541) 344-5410 or <CLR@xxxxxxx> and be sure to give your
>postal address.
>
>[Members of Congress are developing a strategy around the issue of the
>Hyundai/Army contract.]
>
>
>


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