AUT: Part 1, Mex Labor News, July 1999

[Dan La Botz <103144.2651@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS                   =

July, 1999
Vol. IV, No. 12
----------------------------------------------------------------
               About Mexican Labor News and Analysis
     =

     Mexican Labor News and Analysis is produced in collaboration
with the Authentic Labor Front (Frente Autentico del Trabajo -
FAT) of Mexico and with the United Electrical Workers (UE) of the
United States and is published the 2nd and 16th of every month. =


     MLNA can be viewed at the UE's international web site:
HTTP://www.igc.apc.org/unitedelect/. For information about direct
subscriptions, submission of articles, and all queries contact
editor Dan La Botz at the following e-mail address:
103144.2651@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or call in the U.S. (513) 961-8722.
The U.S. mailing address is: Dan La Botz, Mexican Labor News and
Analysis, 3436 Morrison Place, Cincinnati, OH 45220.

     MLNA articles may be reprinted by other electronic or print
media, but we ask that you credit Mexican Labor News and Analysis
and give the UE home page location and Dan La Botz's compuserve
address.

     The UE Home Page which displays Mexican Labor News and
Analysis has an INDEX of back issues and an URGENT ACTION ALERT
section.

     Staff: Editor, Dan La Botz; Correspondents in Mexico: Bob
Briggs, Robert Donnelly, Peter Gellert, Elyce Hues, Jess Kincaid,
Jorge Robles, Don Sherman, Jeremy Simer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Readers,

     Our summer publication schedule will be as follows: July
(one number only); August (one number only). The August issue
will be published August 16. We plan to resume our regular
biweekly publication schedule in September.

     We hope you enjoy a good summer vacation.

                         Dan La Botz, =

                         Editor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE:
     *Opposition Beats PRI in Nayarit, PRI Wins in Mexico State
          - by Peter Gellert
     *INEGI Workers Form Independent Union
          - by Elyce Hues
     *Congeladora del Rio Workers Fight for Union Recognition
          - by Don Sherman
     *Mexico City Signs Pact With Grocery Stores on Child Labor
     *Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) Leaves Congress of
          Labor (CT)
     *CTM Head Rodriguez Alcaine Attacks Student Strikers, PRD
     *CROC Proposes to CTM Creation of New Labor Federation
     *CROC Plays Political Dirty Trick
     *Gov't Denies UNT Seat on National Minimum Wage Commission
     *Tri-National Worker-to-Worker Exchange -
          - by Peter Gilmore
     *Book Review: James D. Cockcroft's "Mexico's Hope" -
          - by Dan La Botz
     *Book Notes: Vote without Borders, Cananea Copper Mine =

-----------------------------------------------------------------
          OPPOSITION COALITION BEATS PRI IN NAYARIT; =

            RULING PARTY WINS IN STATE OF MEXICO

                         by Peter Gellert

     Three important elections took place on Sunday, July 4, in
Mexico that were closely watched by political leaders and
observers alike.

     The races were for the governorships of the Pacific coast
state of Nayarit, the State of Mexico adjacent to the nation=92s
capital, and neighborhood elections in Mexico City.

               PAN-PRD Coalition Wins in Nayarit

     In Nayarit, for the first time ever the opposition mainly
the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the left-of
-center Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)- joined forces
and formed a coalition to oust the ruling Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI). The governing party=92s choice, Lucas
Vallarta, had been handpicked by the PRI leadership, leading to
the defection of would be candidate Antonio Echeverria to the
opposition and a local division in the party=92s ranks. =


     For the first time ever in the state, the opposition beat
the ruling party 53% to 42%. Observers attribute the opposition
victory to three factors. On the one hand, what was perceived as
PRI leaders=92 insensitivity to the internal candidate selection
process and the subsequent division in its ranks. Secondly,
Echeverr=EDa's personal popularity, influence, and contacts.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, a united opposition being
able to achieve what its component parts cannot do separately. =


     The results in Nayarit are increasing pressure for a
national opposition electoral coalition for the year 2000
presidential race. While the PRD has been pushing the idea and a
sector of the PAN has indicated a cautious interest, pulling off
a national coalition is not an easy task.

                    A Peculiar Partnership

     The two parties differ both ideologically as well as on the
key issues facing the country, including and perhaps most
importantly, economic policy, and reconciling such divergences
would be difficult. In practice, other than an occasional defense
of democratic and electoral rights, the PAN and PRD are more
often than not on opposite sides and attack each other
vehemently. In the past few days alone, the PAN has come under
attack for its support for the Bank Savings Protection Institute
(IBAP), the reincarnation of the Bank Savings Protection Fund
(FOBAPROA), which bailed out Mexico=92s bankers, and the actions of
its elected representatives in Baja California Norte who have
moved to brutally break the Han Young strike, with tactics that
would easily rival that of any local PRI government. =


     In addition, many PRD supporters would balk at voting for a
candidate with the PAN=92s conservative social program (which
faithfully mirror=92s the Catholic church=92s reactionary stand on
family planning, abortion, women=92s rights in general, gay issues,
moralistic censorship, etc.) and vice-versa.

     Furthermore each party has a strong candidate already with
his hat in the race--Cuauhtemoc Cardenas for the PRD and Vicente
Fox for the PAN--and getting either to withdraw in favor of the
other=92s standard bearer would be more than complicated.

     Nonetheless, another coalition slate--this time in the state
of Coahuila--is in the home stretch of its election campaign and
discussions are underway in Chiapas for a similar initiative.

                    PRI Wins in Mexico State

     In the State of Mexico, the country=92s most populous with 7.1
million voters, PRI candidate Arturo Montiel won the governor=92s
race with 40% of the vote, trailed by the PAN=92s Jose Luis Duran
with 34% and the PRD=92s Higinio Mart=EDnez with 21%. Yet the results
have been sharply challenged by the two opposition parties, which
have charged the vote was marred by alleged illegal use of
government resources on behalf of the PRI, vote buying and
pressure on voters, the ruling party having vastly exceeded
campaign spending limits, and outright fraud at the ballot boxes.
The PAN and PRD have refused to recognize Montiel=92s victory and
have pledged to organize joint protest actions.

     For its part, the PRI insists it won fair and square and
that the results foreshadow a victory for the governing party in
the year 2000 elections. Nonetheless, the results were almost
identical to pre-election opinion polls, and as such represent a
setback for the opposition, especially the PRD. The fact is that
many voters see no tangible differences in places where the
opposition PAN or PRD- have won elections and therefore return to
the PRI, which at least promises and generally delivers-
stability.

          Mexico City Neighborhood Elections: A Bust

     Finally, neighborhood elections in Mexico City were, by all
accounts, a big failure. The first-ever, non-partisan race, to
elect neighborhood committees to work on a local level with city
authorities had been promoted as a new concept in citizen
participation. Yet only 5% to 10% of registered voters went to
the polls, an unprecedentedly low turnout in Mexico. Since the
political parties were barred from openly participating, the
platforms and propaganda of the competing slates were usually
indistinguishable from each other, leading to voter confusion and
apathy.

     Given the relatively smooth organization of the vote and the
absence of election-rated violence, President Ernesto Zedillo
characterized the July 4 electoral process as  very
satisfactory , and a sign that  the new political face of Mexico
is democracy. =

                              ###

               NATIONAL COALITION OF INEGI WORKERS
                    MAKES IMPORTANT ADVANCES:
                  ESTABLISHES INDEPENDENT UNION

                         by Elyce Hues

     The National Coalition of INEGI Workers, "Ing. Heberto
Castillo," has taken bold steps to further its struggle for
justice for its members and for the thousands of other workers in
the government statistics agency of INEGI. The Coalition formed
late last year by temporary workers of INEGI (National Institute
of Statistics, Geography, and Data Processing), many of whom had
been fired, and many others who were in danger of being fired for
having raised a formal complaint against the Institute for not
recognizing them as permanent workers and for not granting them
their legal benefits.  =


     Since then, the Coalition has pursued various venues of
exerting legal pressure, with great success. Of their many
activities, the Coalition has raised a "juicio politico," or a
political lawsuit, against the director of INEGI, Dr. Carlos
Jarque. The Coalition has also formed an independent union which
already has more members than the official union, and has formed
a union network.
                            Law Suit

     The Coalition submitted the political lawsuit against Dr.
Jarque for abuse of Federal Labor Law (LFT) on May 13 to the
Commission of Appeals of the House of Representatives. A
political lawsuit allows any citizen to charge a government
official with abuse of federal law. The Commission is still
considering it. Of the 32 members who will vote on the
initiative, 12 are expected to vote in favor, and the others are
as of yet undecided. The Coalition continues visits to the
undecided members to inform them of the situation. A final vote
in favor would move the complaint into investigation, the second
phase. Dr. Jarque could potentially be dismissed from his
position, although the Coalition is expecting that government
corruption will not allow this. Their greater objective, they
say, is to gain publicity through media coverage.

     Still, two members of the Commission of Appeals have already
requested another federal government commission, which is
responsible for monitoring top level government officials, do a
full audit of the entire institute of INEGI. The audit would look
at everything from labor rights to economic fraud and carries a
possible prison sentence for guilty parties.

                    New Independent Union: SINADET

     On June 12, a meeting of Coalition members representing
workers from several Mexican states, representatives of the
official union=B9s independent, democratic Green Slate, and a
representative of the Census department of INEGI, decided on the
name, structure, objective and plan of their new independent
labor union. The official union has excluded temporary workers
from its membership, on the basis of their temporary status, even
though the official union's own statutes supposedly allow
temporary workers of six or more months employment to join. =


     The National Democratic Union of INEGI Workers (SINADET), as
the new union was called, already has 2600 members, making it the
majority union at INEGI (the official union has 1200 members). =

SINADET is expecting their membership to balloon to around 8,000
within a few months, since the Census department, at 17,000
temporary employees the largest within INEGI, so far has only
minimal representation in the union of 500 members. SINADET will
be registering their union on July 3rd.
     =

     The formation of a second union in a state-owned institution
would have been impossible in the past. Federal labor laws divide
workers into two legal groups, separating state employees from
all others. One difference in the laws for each group was the
restriction on workers of state-owned institutions to the
representation of only one union. This law was ruled
unconstitutional by the Mexican Supreme Court on May 11th, making
the registration of SINADET possible. (See the related article in
the June 2 issue of MLNA).

     The new union will take the form of a direct democracy,
requiring all major decisions to be brought before the rank and
file. Francisco Farina, the lead organizer of the Coalition,
feels that this is the best way to guard against problems with
corruption in the future. "This is the method of the EZLN [the
Zapatista Army of National Liberatiion]," he says, and although
it can be a slow process at times, he sees the tradeoff as being
worth it. If representatives of SINADET make decisions without
consulting the ranks, they can be removed from their positions.

     SINADET has laid out three immediate objectives. In order to
regain the union's legally guaranteed control over the hiring of
half of the Institute's workforce, the union will seek to get rid
of the Integral System of Professionalization (SIP), a program
developed by INEGI to take away this right. The union will then
be able to begin rehiring the strategically fired workers. Their
third objective is to make "temporary" workers permanent,
although they only expect to do this for 10-100 workers per year.

     The new union is being cautious, concerned that if the
independent union tries to force too many changes too quickly,
the workers may face governmental reprisal in the form of a full
shut-down of INEGI. As the Union of Workers of the Secretary of
Fisheries learned in 1994, when their Secretary was merged with
other departments to become SEMARNAP and their union dissolved,
the government could use some pretext (insufficient funds or
inefficiency, for example) to close the Institute and dissolve
the union in one stroke. Later the institute can be merged or
reopened under a different name, and a new, less militant union
can be formed with government supervision.

     Also, to avoid problems with both the Federation of Unions
of Workers at the Service of the State (FSTSE) and the country's
public employee social security system, ISSSTE, which is
functionally not independent from the FSTSE as it is supposed to
be, SINADET will remain affiliated with the FSTSE. The union will
use pressure from within to push for improvements in services to
workers and for the right to autonomy of  unions. "We can=B9t go
against the FSTSE because it would mean a new enemy," Farina
states.

               Coalition of Independent Unions

     The Coalition also instigated a union network, founded on
May 25. The network joins together eight unions with the
objective of ending the impunity of Mexican laws and fighting
government corruption. The network plans to seek meetings with
Secretaries of the State to present problems facing labor and
look together for solutions. They have already met with
Sub-secretary of Labor Moctezuma Barragan to confront him with
the illegal government activities which coupled with managerial
involvement in order to keep workers in the Tijuana plant, Han
Young, from being able to form an independent union. The network
will follow the Coalition=B9s example of the use of a political
lawsuit in continuing to use existing laws to place pressure on
the government.

     Meanwhile, many of INEGI workers who had feared losing their
jobs for having raised lawsuits against INEGI are receiving new
contracts, so it appears that the illegal firings are currently
being held at bay.
                              ###

                    CONGELADORA DEL RIO WORKERS                  =

                    FIGHT FOR UNION RECOGNITION

                         by Don Sherman

     Congeladora del Rio, a factory in the town of Irapauto,
Guanajuato state, specializes in freezing and preserving tropical
fruits. Around 250 to 300 women and children workers are
employed, usually on a seasonal basis, to cut, process and pack
in boxes and plastic containers pineapples, mangos, strawberries,
bananas, papayas for export to the U.S., Canada, and Japan.
Almost all of these workers live in neighborhoods, such as
Colonia Che Guevara, that are located directly across a wooden
bridge that leads to the factory. This footbridge spans the so-
called Guanajuato River, which, in Irapauto at least, is a series
of small pools of murky water.

     Last month several of the Congeladora workers approached the
Authentic Labor Front (FAT) about forming a union in the plant.
Organizing efforts had already begun earlier in May when the
workers decided to stop work on May 25 to protest the failure of
the company to pay them a promised share of the profits for 1998.
[The Mexican Constitution and Federal Labor Law require companies
to share profits with workers. Many violate or evade the law.]
After this work-stoppage a month long campaign for union
affiliation with FAT was initiated inside the plant. =


               Union Organizing Campaign Successful

     The campaign was successful. On June 23, a committee of
eight union women workers presented a demand that the company
sign a union contract, and at the same time they advised
management of their intention to go on strike unless the union
was recognized. The following day, June 24, the union committee
informed the company in writing that the workers in the plant
wanted to affiliate with FAT. After receiving the workers' letter
and list of demands, the company reacted in an almost predictable
way. They took the credentials of most of union activists and
most of the workers and refused to let them return to work. =


     Instead of demoralizing the workers, the company=92s
intransigence proved to be a catalyst for a union action on June
28. That Monday, the several hundred workers without company
credentials showed up for work. When they were not permitted to
enter, they blocked a company truck loaded with processed fruit
from leaving. Of course, this tactic outraged the managers and
supervisors of the company. Just imagine: women and children
interfering with business! It was too much for them and they
immediately went into action. They called the Notary Public,
which is one of the things that companies do in Mexico. But he
could not do anything to dampen the spirits of the women workers.
Then these same company officials called the police several
times.

                    Police Arrive on the Scene

     Finally, the police did arrive. The chief of police got out
of his official car, saw the determination of the women workers
and approached the FAT union organizer in the area, Antonio
Velaquez Loza, who at that point was helping the organizing
committee enforce a blockade. The police chief asked Antonio if
the women had a right to block the truck. "Of course, it is all
legal,  Antonio quickly replied. Satisfied, the police chief
returned to his official car and left immediately. =


     Perhaps the chief left because Antonio was so persuasive. Or
maybe it was the fact that Irapuato is in state of Guanajuato.
The governor of Guanajuato, Vicente Fox Quesada, belongs to the
conservative National Action Party (PAN), and he has very big
dreams about running for President of Mexico in 2000. It might
not look too good for Fox's ambitions if the Irapuato police
force forcibly tried to evict women and children union activists
from the plant. Since all of the company tactics were
unsuccessful, the manager of the plant, Jaime Murillo Martinez,
finally met with the women workers around 8 p.m. that night His
solution to the problem was to continue the dialogue at a later
date. Round one for the union.

                         At the Labor Board

     After the job action, the union had to return to the legal
arena in an attempt to get a binding contract. According to
Mexican law it is necessary to have a hearing before a legal
strike can be called by a union. On July 7, 1999 both sides were
to be appear at a hearing at the Federal Arbitration and
Conciliation Board (JFCA) in Mexico City. Of course, the company
did not send any representatives, thereby effectively postponing
the meeting. Two of the women committee members did however
appear, coming all the way from Irapuato on a five hour bus trip,
leaving their children and families behind at 11 p.m. and
arriving in Mexico City at 4 a.m. to wait several more hours for
the hearing not to happen.

     However, since this was federal hearing of a union-
management case in Guanajuato, the Federal authorities
representing the PRI government did not want to waste the
opportunity of moving the case right along. Another meeting was
set up for the next day in Mexico City. This time the company
officials did appear, dragging their lawyer with them. At this
hearing they revealed that they had a surprise for everyone. The
workers could not affiliate with FAT because there was already a
union in place at the plant.

     The company attorney proudly produced a document, a
contract, dated June 3, signed by someone from the Revolutionary
Agriculture Workers Union. The contract was only a reiteration of
Mexican labor law: minimum salary, Christmas bonus and so on. It
did, though, have one interesting clause which stipulated that
each month the signers would receive 1,000 pesos. The only
problem for the company was that the document was illegal. Since
the company processed and packaged fruits they were under federal
jurisdiction. Round 2 for the union.

     Presented with this evidence, the company retired for a
conference. When they returned they said they wanted to talk over
the situation in Irapuato with FAT representatives and the union
workers the following day, Friday June 9. The need for a quick
resolution of the situation was clear to the company. If there
was not a resolution of the union recognition demand by Monday,
June 12 at 11:30 a.m., the union would be in a position under
Mexican law to begin a strike, since union documents had been
filed with federal authorities the required six days before. =


                    Company Breaks Off Dialogue

     One of the FAT's three co-directors, Benedicto Martinez made
the trip to Irapauto on Friday, June 9. However, the company
decided that it did not want a dialogue after all, and sent word
through the security guards not to let in anyone without
authorization into the plant. The security guards, as security
guards usually do, obeyed their orders without question. There
were three security guards behind a chain link fence wearing
uniforms which on each one of their sleeves were the flags of the
United States and Mexico.

     For the next several hours, after the cancellation of the
meeting with the company, the workers held their own union
meeting to plan their future strategy. The FAT organizer was
there, along with all the members of the executive committee and
dozens of other women and children workers at the plant. It was
immediately apparent in the meeting, that everyone was going to
stand firm in their demands for union recognition and a decent
contract. The workers' demands include a 50% increase in their
base salary. Some of the workers are paid by the hour, which is
usually below the minimum wage. Now the minimum wage is bad
enough in Mexico, around US$3.40 a day, and to be paid below that
adds a little more salt to the injury. One woman worker thought
she was supposed to be paid five pesos an hour; however, after an
eight hour shift her paycheck seemed to reflect a company
mistake, since the company always paid her 28 pesos, which is
about $3.00 a day. Some other workers get paid for each box they
load. Usually the fastest workers can do 10-15 boxes a day. For
each box they are told they will be paid 2.48 pesos. The company,
though, in high season, from March through June, insures that the
workers will get a few more pesos a day by demanding that all the
workers work from 8 in the morning to 10 or 11 at night.

     The company also does not discriminate between women and
child
ren working these long shifts. They allow children as young
as eleven to work as long as they want. No one seems to know the
exact figure of the numbers of children under 14 working in the
plant, but in a group of 25 women workers outside the plant on
Friday, six were no more than thirteen years old. One of the
thirteen-year-old workers had a bandage on her finger, which she
said was a result of knife slipping taking the tip of her finger
off when she was trying to cut pineapples. This is another one of
the demands of the workers, that the company actually follow the
health and safety laws of Mexico. Since the company has a hard
time adding pesos correctly, and signs illegal contracts with
ghost unions, you would expect that they would have difficulty
paying attention to health and safety rules.

                    Workers Plan to Strike

     Following the strategy meeting, the workers emphasized their
determination, if needed, to go on strike on Monday, July 12.
Before going on strike, however, they decided to try to set up
one last meeting with the company. A meeting of the workers=92
committee and company officials was then held at the plant late
that same afternoon. The meeting lasted about fifteen minutes.
The company=92s position would be determined by Arthur Price, a
U.S. investor, and actually the true owner of the company, and
they just could not get through to him. All the company wanted
was for the workers to postpone their strike decision for another
15 days. However, the women workers had enough of delays and
excuses.

     But the delays seem to continue. On Monday, July 12, 1999, a
Federal Arbitration and Conciliation Board hearing officer agreed
to extend the deadline for a strike until at least Thursday, July
15. The hearing officer ruled that the company could present
evidence on July 14 that the protection union that they signed a
contract with in June really represents the workers. As Carolina
Vazquez, one of the FAT committeewomen from the plant, said,
 First the company gives us false promises, then they give us a
false union.  In the next two days the company will probably put
pressure on those remaining workers in the factory to support the
company's ghost union. The committee though believes that almost
everyone will continue to support the FAT, the union they chose.
The strike seems now just to be postponed for a few more days.

     END PART I MEXICAN LABOR NEWS, VOL. 4, NO. 12, JULY 1999
                    BE SURE YOU GET PART 2


     --- from list aut-op-sy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---