MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS
December, 2001 Vol. VI, No. 10
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About Mexican Labor News and Analysis
Mexican Labor News and Analysis (MLNA) is produced in collaboration with the Authentic Labor Front (Frente Auténtico del Trabajo - FAT) of Mexico and the United Electrical Workers (UE) of the United States, and with the support of the Resource Center of the Americas in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
MLNA can be viewed at the UE's international web site: HTTP://www.ueinternational.org For information about direct subscriptions, submission of articles, and all queries contact editor Dan La Botz at the following e-mail address: DanLaBotz@cs.com or call in the U.S.(513) 861-8722. The U.S. mailing address is: Dan La Botz, Mexican Labor News and Analysis, 3503 Middleton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45220.
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This article was published by Mexican Labor News and Analysis, a monthly collaboration of the Mexico City-based Authentic Labor Front (FAT), the Pittsburgh-based United Electrical Workers (UE) (HTTP://www.ueinternational.org) and AMERICAS.ORG (http://www.americas.org). Contact Editor Dan La Botz at danlabotz@cs.com or 513-861-8722. For a free e-mailed subscription, send a message to mlna@americas.org with "subscribe" in the subject line.
The UE Home Page which displays Mexican Labor News and Analysis has an INDEX of back issues and an URGENT ACTION ALERT section. For a free e-mailed subscription to MLNA, send a message to mlna@americas.org with "subscribe" in the subject line.
Staff: Editor, Dan La Botz. Managing editor, Larry Weiss. Correspondents in Mexico: Peter Gellert and Michal Kohout. Regular contributors: David Bacon.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
DEBATE OVER MAQUILADORAS TAKES NEW TURN: THE CHINA QUESTION
by Dan La Botz
The Mexican debate over the maquiladoras has taken a new turn reflected in many newspaper and magazine articles about the future of the industry. For thirty years Mexican politicians and entrepreneurs put forward the maquiladora as an essential component of development policy. Now they see the maquiladoras going the way of the hacienda--and they blame China.
Between 1965 when the first maquiladora laws were passed and about 1982, Mexican government officials and business leaders argued that the maquiladora could help solve Mexico's employment problem. The border plants, it was suggested, would provide jobs for workers without altering the national program of a mixed economy and a policy of import substitution industrialization. Workers would find jobs in the maquildoras--then conceived as perhaps only a temporary phenomenon--until absorbed by other Mexican industries.
After 1982, beginning under then president Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican political leaders and industrialists began to see the maquiladora as an important starting point for national industrial development in the new world of neoliberal economics and globalization. Maquiladoras, it was then argued, would provide a first step and important component in developing manufacture for export as the new Mexican economic ideal. Government officials and Mexican economists argued that the maquiladora would create forward and backward linkages--supply plants and more sophisticated manufacturing and distribution systems--that would eventually lift Mexico out of the third world and into the first.
By the 1990s it appeared that the maquiladoras were not simply a first step or a small part of a larger manufacture for export plan, but the very dynamo and perhaps the principal example of Mexico's manufacturing system. New laws permitted maquiladoras to expand from border regions throughout the country, the number of plants increased to over 3,000 and the number of workers to over a million and eventually to as many as 1.3 million out of a total formal workforce of about 20 million. The maquiladora sector in the late 1990s was growing faster than any other area of the economy, driven by low wages, no unions, and few government controls.
Now, suddenly the Mexican discussion about the maquiladora sector seems to be about its apparently inevitable decline and perhaps even its likely demise. This could be just another argument by the maquiladora manufacturers for lower taxes and special protections. Then again, maybe this is just a result of the current U.S. and Mexican recession which has seen the closing of scores--perhaps hundreds--of maquiladoras, and the layoff of a couple of hundred thousand maquiladora workers. Or perhaps it is driven by the current bottlenecks in the movement of traffic along the U.S.-Mexico border after September 11. But it could be something much bigger.
Mexican politicians, industrialists and news analysts have begun to suggest that the maquiladoras are being eclipsed by competition from Asia, and particularly from China. Recently for example, Thompson and Philips, two multinational corporations with a twenty year history of operating maquiladoras along the border, announced that they were closing their plants permanently, laying off 15,000 workers. The plants will be moved "to other parts of the world," most likely in Asia. Many analysts and commentators now suggest that Mexico's biggest problem could be low wage competition from China.
The current discussion over the maquiladoras makes a number of important points.
First, the enormous pressures and the tremendous damage caused by the international neo-liberal economic regime of corporate-led globalization fall not only on the industrialized nations and their workforces--but fall even harder on the developing nations. Mexican workers--with less job security, much lower pay, and with fewer assets--now face the same problem of runaway shops that confronted U.S. workers over the last 30 years.
Second, the lack of workers' rights and living wages undermines workers not only in the developed world, but also in the developing world. China attracts foreign capital in large measure because workers there have no rights, so wages can be kept at less than $1.00 a day--rather than the $5.00 a day earned by workers in the Mexican maquiladoras. The state-controlled All Chinese Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) cannot and does not fight for Chinese workers, except in those rare occasions when workers break free of its bureaucratic structures.
Third, as one begins to see the big picture clearly, the problem is not the low-wage Mexican or Chinese worker, or from the point of view of other countries the low-wage U.S. worker, but rather the high profits of the corporations and low morals of the politicians.
From those observations, I would make a fourth point: namely that workers and labor unions must, while defending their fundamental rights to independent union organizations and fighting their basic economic issues, also work for social and political power in order to control capital. We must envision a world of democracy, equality and security, while fighting to survive in the world of globalization.
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OECD TRADE UNION ADVISOR SAYS MAQUILADORAS HURT WORKERS
James G. Evans, the general secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an organization of 30 nations including Mexico, told the Mexican press in late November that maquiladoras represent "part of the problem, not part of the solution." He said that the maquiladoras had contributed to exploitation, discrimination against women, low wages, few benefits, and poor standards of living.
Evans suggested that the Mexican government should find a new strategy for economic development.
Perhaps too polite to criticize his host government and its labor policies directly, he pointed out that the OECD had documented cases of a Korean employer in Guatemala denying workers the right to independent labor unions of their own choosing. Virtually all maquiladoras in Mexico have only government-controlled or company unions, and have almost completely succeeded in keeping independent unions out of the plants by denying workers the right to choose their own unions.
Evans, however limited his criticisms of foreign investors to Koreans and Japanese firms which, he argued, only create export plants that do not develop the economy. Evans apparently hesitated to criticize the European or U.S. companies that pursue similar policies. Evans' committee maintains relations with the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), the largely discredited, pro-government union federation.
The OECD is sometimes called the "rich man's club" because it is made up mostly of developed nations; Mexico and a few other developing countries being exceptions.
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UNIONS IN MEXICO WORSE OFF UNDER FOX: DE LA GARZA
Enrique de la Garza, one of Mexico's leading scholars in industrial relations, told an audience in Berkeley, California recently that unions in Mexico today under the government of president Vicente Fox may be even worse off than they were in the past under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Speaking at the Latin American Student Center at the University of California at Berkeley, de la Garza told the audience that president Fox's administration has continued to support corrupt labor bureaucrats, to back employers' protection contracts, and to deny workers the right to independent unions of their own choice.
"In the area of labor they have preferred to continue the old regime, with Fox's version of the state-controlled system [un corporativismo foxista], supported by employer organizations that have little interest in union democracy and are afraid of the dangers of an upheaval from the unions and the workers," said de la Garza.
De la Garza suggested that Secretary of Labor Carlos Abascal had continued the old policies of state support for corrupt unions and employers against the interest of workers, only now with a new right-wing religious rhetoric.
The national scene, he indicated, was similar to that at the state level where Fox's conservative National Action Party (PAN) worked legally or illegally to insure the employers' investments. "Their only interest," he said, "is to give maximum satisfaction to the investors."
De la Garza stated that the National Union of Workers (UNT) and other unions such as university workers, telephone workers, teachers, pilots, flight attendants and social security workers were attempting to defend labor unionism in Mexico.
Mexicans workers' wages fell 24.8 percent between 1994 and 1999, according to de la Garza.
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GENERAL TIRE SHUTS MEXICAN PLANT
The following Informational Bulletin was issued by Jesus Torres Nuno, General Secretary of the National Revolutionary Union of Workers at the Rubber Company Euzkadi on December 18th, 2001. It was provided by Antonio Villalba Granados of the FAT with the request that letters of protest be sent to the Mexican government. For more information, please contact him at 011-525-556-9314 or 9375. It should be noted that Mexican labor law does not permit management to unilaterally decide to shut a facility; only certain reasons serve as legal justification and in any event specific procedures must be followed.
Last Monday, the 17th of December, the workers at the Compania Hulera Euzkadi, S.A. de C.V. (which is one of the Mexican affiliates of the German company general Tire), showed up for work as usual at the plant at El salto Jalisco. However, upon arriving at our place of work we found locks on all of the gates which provide access to the plant and an armed "internal security" force within the plant.
The notice of the plant closing which was signed by the company lawyer and posted on the main gate of the plant, read that as of that date the plant was closed. From one day to the next, without providing any sort of notice, Euzkadi closed the plant, leaving 1,050 workers without a job. What management argues in their notice in attempting to justify the illegal closure in terms of Article 5 of the Constitution is absurd -- as if that article supported a unilateral plant closure.
It is evident the closure violates the legal procedures established by the Federal Labor Law which lists the causes, situations, and pre-requisites which must be complied with in the event of a plant closing. In this way they are seeking to eliminate the authentic and democratic union which has always been willing to enter into dialogue with them, and which even supported the application of the company for two shut downs during the months of September and October with the objective of preserving to the greatest degree possible our source of employment. Therefor it is impermissible that with no notice the company should suddenly be found to have closed based on a unilateral decision by management, leaving more than 1000 workers without work.
Upon finding our labor rights violated, the more than one thousand workers who belong to our union are relying on all of the resources we have within our reach in order to see that the law prevails, to reverse the unjustified discharge we suffered so that we are reinstated in our jobs. For the time being we have turned to the labor authorities in order that they should require that the company apply the law, but at this point we have not received a satisfactory response restoring our rights.
Jesus Torres Nuno General Secretary
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FORD WORKERS FIGHT FOR THEIR JOBS IN FACE OF MASSIVE LAYOFFS
by Witness for Peace, Mexico
The recent economic recession in the US has already affected various sectors of the Mexican economy, including the auto industry. One affected group was workers at the Cuautitlán Ford factory outside of Mexico City. As a result of decreasing Ford exports over the past months, there has been a dramatic reduction in the labor force at the factory. From July to October of this year at least 700 workers lost their jobs in a series of layoffs that targeted workers with more years of experience who are entitled to higher salaries and more benefits.
Ford and union leaders initially announced that temporary workers would be the first to lose their jobs, followed by a program of voluntary retirement aimed at workers with more than thirty years of experience. Workers, however, claim that they were forced to sign documents agreeing to early retirement in order to receive a severance package from the plant. Many who refused to sign still lost their jobs, as well as the benefits package other workers were entitled to receive. Laid-off workers allege that the company has hired temporary workers in their place to avoid paying higher salaries and benefits such as health care and social security.
In August, immediately following the first round of layoffs, a large group of workers protested in front of the Ford headquarters in Mexico. Workers continue to fight the layoffs through legal channels, with twenty-one workers pursuing claims before a federal labor board. In these claims, workers allege that they were illegally fired, and ask for reinstatement. A small group of workers has persisted in protesting weekly outside of Ford's Mexico City headquarters since the initial round of layoffs, despite having received threats and harassment which they believe to have come from the company.
[We want to welcome the Mexico Office of Witness for Peace staff as volunteer reporters to Mexican Labor News and Analysis and thank them for this first article. - Ed.]
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ACTION ALERT: SARA LEE TO CLOSE COAHUILA PLANT
The following action alert from Enlace should have been included with the MLNA sent out this morning. For further information, contact Enlace
at enlace@communitiesunitedforpeople.org or 503-295-6466
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
As payback for a successful organized action carried out by workers in the maquila Confecciones de Monclova in Frontera, Coahuila, Mexico, Sara
Lee appears to be closing the plant and moving to another city while workers are off for the Christmas holiday.
Tell Sara Lee not to be the Grinch Who Stole Christmas! Don't close the plant in Frontera! Don't retaliate against the seven workers of the
Negotiation Committee!
Please call or email:
Janet Bergman
Vice President Investor Relations
(312) 558-4966
shareholder@saralee.com
Congratulate them for giving out the legally required bonus after a successful action by the workers, but demand that there be no reprisals
against the seven workers of the Negotiation Committee and that they don't close the plant in Frontera.
Background:
The Sara Lee maquila in had the practice of giving out bonuses based on the worker's production during the last weeks of the year. The table
they used to determine each person's bonus consisted of production quotas that were impossible to reach. But this year was different,
thanks to the workers' organizing efforts. They presented a petition signed by 500 workers. Last week, this document was given to the
General Manager of the maquila, Mr. Lauro Pesqueira. Now Sara Lee is operating as required by law. On December 11, Mr. Pesqueira announced
that the bonus would be calculated and distributed as required by the
Federal Labor Law of Mexico.
The seven workers that were responsible for this victory and therefore vulnerable to retaliation are: Laura Armandina Márquez; Julia Palacios;
Silvia de la Cruz; Maria Teresa Carrizales; Maria del Rosario de la Cruz Ávila; Maria de Lourdes Muñoz Díaz; Maria Luisa Rodríguez.
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REPORT ON THE AUTHENTIC LABOR FRONT (FAT) 12TH NATIONAL CONGRESS
by Robin Alexander
The twelfth National Congress of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) brought together some 250 delegates from the different sectors of the FAT, as well as friends and supporters from Mexico and abroad in the city of Oaxtepec from Nov. 17 - 19.
New energy was provided by the welcome presence of representatives of the 2,600 member bus drivers' union that recently affiliated with the FAT, as well as representatives of gas station attendants, and other new groups of workers. The diversity of the organization was clearly evidenced by the discussion involving workers from various sectors. For example, members involved in opposition to the confiscation of land for the new Mexico City airport participated, as did others from the FAT cooperatives who sold by jam and hand woven and embroidered serapes, tee-shirts and literature.
The various unions and movements also made their presence felt by the colorful banners that were hung in the auditorium where the main sessions were conducted. Among them, one honoring the recently assassinated human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa proclaimed: "...in Mexico it is more serious to violate commercial norms than human rights."
Trade unionists attended from the National Union of Workers (UNT) and other Mexican unions, as well as from the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) from France, the General Confederation of Italian Workers (CGIL), the United Electrical Workers (UE), the Labor Council of El Paso,Texas, and the AFL-CIO from the United States, the Canadian Steelworkers (USWA) and the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC), and the National Union Confederation (CSN) and the Center for International Worker Solidarity (CISO), both from Quebec. Messages of solidarity came from as far away as Japan -- from the progressive labor federation, Zenroren. (See below for message from the United Electrical Workers (UE).
The editorial in the convention issue of RESISTENCIA OBRERA set the stage for the discussions and work of the Congress (See below for translation of other documents):
"Approximately a year after the initiation of the Fox administration, not only has the President failed to demonstrate any evidence of the changes which had been promised, but on the contrary, he has maintained and deepened the economic policies inherited from the six year terms of prior presidents with the addition of a strong dose of demagogy. We have seen over and over again the foolishness, excesses and wisecracks of Vicente Fox, but are unaware of any serious policies to overcome the poverty, unemployment and low expectations which confront workers on a daily basis. The Secretary of Labor has not renounced his origins and has renewed the alliance between government, bosses and charros [corrupt labor officials]. Protection for the official unions on the border and for company unions: plant closings, temporary shutdowns, and indifference; this is the character of the labor policy, and if there is any doubt one only has to ask the workers at Dina, the soccer players and many others.
"The world pursues the vicious cycle of terror that engenders more terror. While the U.S. population becomes conscious of the sad role in history to which their government has relegated them (passively unaware and happy) and confronts the human tragedy with a new view of the world, President Bush has decided that the Afghan people, immersed in hunger and desperation by decades of continuous warfare, must become the object of imperial vengeance. In the midst of a world economic recession, the powerful agree once again that it is workers who must bear the cost of recovery: millions of discharges, wage controls, a battering of labor rights... these are the "benefits" of globalization.
"In the midst of this difficult panorama the members of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo will hold our Twelfth National Congress. We have before us the challenge of strengthening and re-directing our organization in order that it will continue to be our most effective means through which to struggle for better living conditions, and for a society in which nobody is above anyone else. Prior to this Congress we developed a project designed to strengthen our organization internally, which consisted essentially of a broad discussion representing the perspective and vision of all of the zones and sectors of the FAT, concerning the situation facing the organization, its possibilities for the future and the methods of organization and struggle which we can adopt in order to continue to accomplish our commitments. The product of this discussion will be considered by the delegates at the Congress and from their work will arise an organization which is more cohesive, more dynamic, and more committed with the cause of workers and of society."
It was clear from the working groups that these issues had been discussed at length prior to the Congress and that the documents which were presented for final discussion and approval reflected that intense effort. Although the Constitution and By-laws of the organization were not modified, the responsibilities of each of the three national leaders were re-defined -- essentially as organization, finance and publicity.
Only one additional proposal was presented at the Congress itself by the women's network of the FAT, and that proposal was introduced as a complementary effort to further analyze and move forward the work with women within the FAT. In doing so, it spoke of the need for "transversality" -- that the work with women must cut across the entire organization and must be the responsibility of all, including the national coordinators. The proposal was rapidly incorporated with virtually no debate.
One of the most interesting parts of the convention was a report by Arturo Alcalde, legal counsel for the FAT who is the UNT's representative at the discussions which are currently taking place regarding reform. After outlining the of the Federal labor Law. After summarizing the major areas of contention -- rules regarding who should be considered an employee; "flexibilization" [of current guarantees concerning hours of work, pay and job security]; collective rights (democratic functioning, real contracts, public registries, respect for internal affairs of unions; and secret ballot elections); the length of board proceedings; "false" tri-partite structure of the labor boards; and need for an institution which would set wages based on objective indicators -- he concluded that there had not been much movement because of the insistence of industry on flexibilization and the insistence of the official unions that they did not want change.
Although during the convention it seemed that several slates might run, by the time of the election it appeared that consensus had been reached and a single slate comprised of Benedicto Martinez, Antonio Villalba and Erick Quesnel was elected by an overwhelming majority in a secret ballot vote. Elections were also held for representatives of the various sectors, and suggestions were taken for working committees.
One of the areas where delegates had concluded that work was required was in strengthening the organization of the FAT in the various regions in which it operates. A tired but enthusiastic group of delegates returned home determined to do precisely that!
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GREETING FROM THE UE The following message from the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) was delivered by the Union's Director of International Affairs, Robin Alexander.
I bring a strong message of solidarity from the officers and members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). We value our relationship with the FAT greatly. We believe that we have much to learn from the way your organization is structured to bring a broad array of interests and concerns together through your four sectors and women's network. And we congratulate and thank you for your unwavering commitment to establishing independent, democratic unions against tremendous odds, your clarity of vision, and your willingness to take on difficult questions and to make proposals about possible solutions.
These are difficult and troubling times for working people. In the United States, recent reports indicate that 529,000 workers have lost their jobs due to the economic downturn and impact of Sept. 11th. Not surprisingly, the response of our government has been to move forward with legislation which would retroactively repeal minimum corporate taxes, creating a windfall for giant corporations, including $1.4 billion for IBM, $833 million for General Motors, $671 million for General Electric, $572 million for Chevron Texaco, and $254 million for Enron. At the same time, they are debating whether workers who have lost their jobs should even receive medical insurance coverage!
At the same time, the war is being used as a justification for trying to ram through fast track, for eviscerating our civil liberties, and most recently, to try to establish a military tribunal to try purported "terrorists" without any of the protections accorded by our constitution.
We know that here in Mexico the FAT has been under renewed attack for establishing relations of solidarity with unions and organizations in other countries. For this you have been accused of being traitors to your country, puppets of US unions and worse.
Meanwhile, both of our national governments are controlled by extremely conservative politicians who have stacked their cabinets with corporate executives.
In these times, we believe that international solidarity is more important than ever before. It is essential that workers throughout the world stand together to demand an end to corporate profiteering, decent wages and benefits for all working people and peace. We know that it is our future and that of our children which is at stake, and are proud to stand with you in the struggle to create a better future.
Thank you.
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[We present here the two major documents from the FAT's 12th National Congress. The first is "Unity in Action Facing the Challenges of the Present," and the second "Triennial Strategic Proposal." Translation by Dan La Botz.]
AUTHENTIC LABOR FRONT - DOCUMENTS OF THE 12TH NATIONAL CONGRESS, NOVEMBER 2001 UNITY IN ACTION FACING THE CHALLENGES OF THE PRESENT
The Authentic Labor Front, in the 11th National Congress of November 1997, decided that its central objective would be to continue the process of strengthening its internal organization. The FAT pointed out that in these new times, its organizations had to adapt their forms and strategies without losing the basic characteristics, history and aspirations which give them their meaning.
Similarly, we proposed to renew our commitment to struggle for the Mexican people's basic causes. We also proposed to advance in the building of solidarity in order to confront the power of the transnational corporations by working to create unity of action without borders, coordinating the efforts of workers' organizations, participating in the Continental Social Alliance (ASC), and in other initiatives to achieve social justice in the world.
Today, we reaffirm that changes in the electoral political situation at different levels of government, the search for choices by labor organizations and civil society, as well as the continuity of the neo-liberal economic model that with its ever greater impact on workers, all oblige us to define with greater precision the strategic actions that we must carry out in order to consolidate the democratic movement of Mexican workers.
In thinking about the general situation that the women and men of the Mexican working class are going through at this time, we agree that we should put forward these problems:
1. Facing transnational globalization, the labor union agenda cannot be limited to the defense or extension of gains for labor, nor to alliances with the working class alone. The mission of labor organizations must be to develop relations and alliances with other sectors and to take up other issues in addition to labor and union matters. Such has been our historical trajectory as we have participated in social and civic organizations such as labor unions, inter-union alliances, inter-sectoral organizations, the Mexican Network on the Free Trade Agreement (RMALC), the National Union of Workers (UNT), and the continental social Alliance (ASC).
2. In Mexico it is not enough to fight against unemployment, low wages, or for better working conditions at the level of the local labor union. It is also necessary to fight for a different economic model. Therefore, we propose to give the internal market its strategic weight in order to stimulate sustained growth of the economy and convert the politics of wage increases into a lever of development. The increase in purchasing power of the population provides a solution to production problems through commerce and at the same time strengthens exports with a high national content and articulates productive links as other motors of the economy.
3. The fall in real wages has forced women to look for industrial work. If there are no changes in the current tendency of the global economy, women will continue to be those who are most affected. It is urgent that we demand that a gender perspective be integrated into economic policies. At the same time it is necessary to lay the foundations to improve the quality of life and to facilitate the access of women in decision making.
4. The maquiladora industries constitute for the workers an industrialization process that modifies the economic, social, cultural, and territorial structure in which they live. The challenge is to design a view of their labor rights taking into account freedom of association and collective bargaining, developing a strategy of solidarity and alliances on the way to creating their own union organization in order to act in the workplace and in society.
5. The government has shown little interest in the agricultural (farming and ranching) sector. It is evident that agrarian legislation has put the farmers' lands at the disposal of the agro-industrial enterprises. It is necessary to construct the hope of a life linked to the countryside for the farmers and their families. A possible alternative organizational alliance is the participation of the FAT's farmers' organizations in the National Union of Workers (UNT).
6. Today instead of responsible [government] organizations being required to guarantee their social rights, workers are subject to the vicissitudes of the political-electoral situation. The United Nations (UN) has recommended that public spending should be distributed over the gross national product according to the percentages of social expenses. Our struggle is to achieve a distribution of the wealth that permits access to food, education, health, housing, and employment.
7. Faced with the difficult economic situation that the majority of Mexicans are experiencing, the alternative of a social economy once again becomes timely. To expand self-managing cooperatives represents one of our proposals and tasks.
8. The government negotiations with the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) have not advanced, since there has been no response to its demands which result from a historic grievance: the conquest, the pillage of their lands, discrimination, exploitation and humiliation. The Indians deserve justice, liberty, democracy, and peace. Not more nor less.
Thinking about What is To Be Done in a Global Context Today all countries are closely united in a global economy. They are united by a system based on mechanisms of capital expansion, financial circulation and commercial interchange that use science and technology in telecommunications, microelectronics, information processing and transportation in order to flow throughout the planet. The promoters and beneficiaries are the great transnational enterprises, the bankers and the financial corporations of the highly industrialized countries.
No country is economically and politically autonomous any more. There is a tendency to generate relations that subordinate one nation to another, using ideological mechanisms that try to convince the population that this is the only possible situation. One of its ideological expressions is neo-liberalism, whose fundamentals are:
According to this logic, 50% of the population of the planet receives less than 5% of the world's income. Some 1,300 million people live on less than a dollar a day. Two thirds of the population receive less than 20% of the wealth of the world, and the rest of the industrialized economies take 80%.
Poverty is concentrated in the countries of the Southern Hemisphere. Some 70% of the poor are women. An increase has been recorded in the informal economy that now makes up 45 percent of the labor force of Latin America. In the industrialized countries there has been economic growth without the creation of employment. The population migration in search of better working conditions and wages affects more than 100 million people, accompanied by a growth of child labor as well.
Economic globalization constitutes a reality that confronts workers' organizations, and those of us in unions find ourselves at a disadvantage. We are looking for new ways to alter these tendencies and results. The new global order has cost us jobs, lowered our wages, worsened our working conditions and has impoverished our living conditions.
Structural adjustment, the Free Trade Agreements, privatization of public firms, employers' protection contracts, flexiblization of production, cheap labor, unemployment, the informal economy, an unjust distribution of wealth, poverty with the face of a woman, exploited migrants, corruption, the corporativist [state-controlled] union system, violation of human, workers' and union rights: these are the cards we've been dealt, all marked with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the multinational corporations and the governments of the G-7 countries. This is what commercial, economic, financial globalization has meant to our country.
Thinking about Action against the Government's Agenda and Plan The concentration of economic income in the most privileged sectors translate into the extreme poverty which has increased in Mexico.
Of the 1,155 state-owned firms that existed in 1982, about 1,000 have passed to the hands of private capital either Mexican or foreign, including strategic areas: telephones, railroads, ports, gas, airports, electric generation, metal industries, petrochemicals, highways, telecommunications, etc. On the list for future privatizations are the electric power industry, education, health, sea shores, beaches, forests--opening more spaces for the Free Trade Agreement, the Puebla-Panama Plan, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
With the reform of Constitutional Article 27, land that had been considered to be the property of the Nation and not subject to trade has been passing into the hands of foreign agri-business. As a result, a drop in the role of agriculture in the national economy has been noted. While agriculture represented 9.1% of the gross national product in 1986, it represents only 5% in 2000. Some 75% of those in rural areas are poor. There are 4 million indigenous people in extreme poverty.
The representative of the entrepreneurs' corporations, now converted into governmental ministers, and others in the legislatures in the Mexican Congress, agree that:
By way of these developments which appear to be "inexplicable" for Mexican men and women, without any limit or future, we now discover:
1. That the PRI fell -- but it still exists. The "new labor culture" being promoted by Fox was agreed upon between the Confederation of Mexican Workers [CTM, the largest of the PRI-affiliated labor federations] and the Mexican Employers Association (COPARMEX) in 997 when the current Minister of Labor, Carlos Abascal, functioned as the president of COPARMEX. The tendencies are to the right. In the labor arena there is uncertainty. We should pay attention to the reform of the Federal Labor Law (LFT). The government is going through a process of transformation. Nevertheless, it has not ended the state-control that it maintains over social sectors, and it has not renounced the use of force.
2. Fox and the PAN are globaladdicts [addicted to globalization] and neo-liberal fundamentalists, which is the reason why they have not designed an economic plan any different from that of previous governments. The social programs are in the hands of people who come from the business sector. The public policies that are being announced do not benefit the majority of the population.
3. The change of parties in the Federal government is not reflected in a change in policy in the governments of the state and municipalities. In the social arena, for example, the PAN governments in Guanajuato, Baja California, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Aguascalientes, Morelos, and Yucatan, have not modified the economic, wage or labor policies.
4. The organizations and mechanisms which exercise public power continue being held by a political class that subordinates itself to those who control the commercial, economic and financial circuits, who refuse to distribute public benefits to the working class population. Public corruption has engendered the proliferation of all sorts of crooks.
5. Faced with this, society calls for the social reform of the government, so that it may be capable of resolving the problems that the people complain about. The people want reform through a new social, economic, political and democratic pact in Mexico, with the goal of participating in the construction of a more just national and international order in which work and workers can be included. Reforming the state means that unions confront and take on in the current situation the unjust and oppressive forms that today tend to express themselves once again as the sign of a savage capitalism, predatory and without social regulation, ideologically reformulated under the rubric of neo-liberalism.
6. This also implies that the labor movement must assume a self-critical attitude in order to eradicate the vices and internal deviations, in order to transform and democratize our union and political structures and practices. In the same way, it must take on the new challenges and productive and social responsibilities, reformulating its discourse in order to renovate its action, re-establishing its alliances and recovering the historic initiative.
7. Labor unionism should play a relevant role in the creation of a new network of social organizations capable of breaking with state-control, developing strategic and innovative political projects that widen its area of alliances and establish new relations within society and different political actors.
Thinking about the challenges, proposals and projects because for the FAT it is important to:
1. We consider it of vital importance to strengthen the organization in order to advance. Analyzing the financial situation and its distribution, we recognize that self-financing is best achieved through the growth in members. We need to push forward the Solidarity and Mutual Support Fund (FOSAM) in all of our organizations. We need to look for better methods and to change responsibilities in the union and sectoral education. It is the obligation of everyone to implement education in all areas and levels of the FAT.
2. We need to intensify the campaign for the right to a direct, universal and secret vote so that all workers can with complete freedom decide on their union affiliation, the election of the representatives, negotiation proposals, and the approval of collective bargaining agreements, as well as representation election and strikes. In addition, we must carry out actions against employers' protection contracts, and insist that workers have a right to know the constitution and by-laws of their union and their collective bargaining agreements.
3. We must demand the creation of a National Institute for the Public Registration of Union Organizations and Collective Bargaining agreements. We should demand immediately that the government guarantee the full exercise of democratic freedom of organization, union membership and collective bargaining, insisting on the fulfillment of convention 87 signed and ratified by the Mexican government and the International Labor Organization (ILO)
4. We must work toward the promotion of the interests of the members, and in general the strengthening of the economic and social well being of the workers. We must express solidarity in the defense of the specific demands of women, youth, indigenous people, migrant workers, retired workers, older people, the handicapped and other sectors of society, fighting for public policies that stimulate their participation and create security and equity.
5. We must strengthen follow-up work in our relations and national and international alliance, and unity of action with workers' organizations, carrying out bilateral and multilateral information exchanges, developing sectoral and regional meetings, looking for programmatic agreements that permit joint action with regard to specific policies while offering our solidarity.
6. We must demand the re-writing of NAFTA with the participation of workers and their organizations with the objective of putting the protection of the rights of affected sectors of society as a priority. We must also have the perspective of incorporating a clause dealing with society and democracy. And we must fight for elevating and equalizing the rights and benefits of labor, raising them to the constitutional level. In addition, we must develop programs to confront the Puebla Panama Plan and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), together with the Continental Social Alliance.
7. The changes that have been accomplished have been very limited, but we continue making our proposals count and constructing democracy one step at a time. We find ourselves in a new position and we must take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. The possibility of advancing the campaign of the "20 Promises" has opened up. [Reference to 20 promises to the labor unions signed by Mexican President Fox during his election campaign, and then ignored. -ed.] We have to study the current situation and the rhetoric in order to prepare our campaign, and to create professional militants committed to the cause of social struggle and with capacity to develop new ideas in order to develop the present and future FAT.
Labor unionism is defined by its real capacity to represent and define the interests and rights of workers in production, economics, politics and social relations that are in constant transformation. This means that it must continually innovate its practices, its structure and its methods of struggle, with the goal of avoiding falling back into the in qualities and injustices of capitalism itself.
UNITY OF ACTION WITHOUT BORDERS!!
National Executive and Coordinating Committee of the FAT November 2001 "For Working Class Self-Management"
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TRIENNIAL STRATEGIC PROPOSAL
- Introduction
1. The FAT has defined itself as an organization of men and women workers, autonomous and democratic, committed to the defense of the immediate and historic interests of the working class. We are an organization that struggles for improvements in the living and working conditions of all, and works for a process of transformation of Mexican society that moves in the direction of democracy and self-managed socialism.
2. -The Analysis
2.1 - Changes in the Context
The type of globalization that has been established, with a clear neoliberal orientation, has had important consequences for the world of labor. All productive process and consumption patterns have been affected by it. On the one hand it has brought substantial improvements in communications, scientific and technological advances and improvements in intercultural relations. But on the other hand, globalization has also brought an increase in production that uses less labor, leading to displacements of workers who are pushed into the informal labor, underemployment, self-employment, temporary employment in the service sectors, subcontracting and in general: a precarious employment situation.
Among the reasons for this displacement are the introduction of new technologies that substitute multiple functions what used to employ several workers. There is also a change in the system of labor from production by assembly line to production by teams, one worker fulfilling several functions (the multiskilled worker) all in less time and with a higher volume of production.
Together with these changes, there is a tendency to increase the use of female labor which leads to important change not only in the factor (ways of getting along, harassment), as well as in the home (absence of the mother, changes in the roles of the couple). This greater participation of women in labor has not translated into great self-esteem, nor into participation in leadership and decision making either in the factories or in the unions. Add to this the fact that women are paid lower wages.
The low purchasing power of their wages leads workers to try to increase the number of hours of work, including weekends in order to pull together the minimum necessary income, with the resulting decline in the quality of life of the worker and his or her family.
All of the tendencies described above have led to a fall in the rate of unionization. The phenomenon of unemployment impact unions, since workers prefer to "protect" their sources of employment rather than commitment themselves to fight for their rights. They tend to avoid collective struggle that might lead to layoffs or to the closing of the factory because of runaway shops that offer a better investment.
In the countryside, the situation is even more drastic because technical changes have led to the displacement of the farmers, with the consequent abandonment of the land and even of families. Agroindustry has also displaced the labor force which has had to emigrate. These industries tend to use up natural resources, and, once they have done so, they move away to some other location. The firms also move out when workers organize and fight for their rights.
Faced with this phenomenon, farmers combine agricultural production with work in the maquiladoras. It is difficult to return to rural production, and youth have therefore developed other objectives such as emigration, since they don't see any future in the countryside. Faced with emigration, women remain as those in charge of production and the sustaining the family, leading to change in the role of women in the community.
The abandonment of policies that supported agricultural production and the constant increase in the costs of production, together with the difficulties of access to the market, generate a tendency on the part of farmers to sell off their land. The result is that the organizing effort of workers in the countryside confront various difficulties.
There is a tendency for rural and urban workers to lose a sense of their identity as subjects or actors in society.
In the cooperative sector a similar experience is being undergone, since, confronting commercial competition and technological changes, cooperatives find it difficult to enter or remain in the market. Consequently it is difficult to make any progress in improving the life of cooperativists and to incorporate new people into cooperative work.
What seemed like an alternative for workers has become a heavy burden. The government, on the pretext of the embezzlement of workers savings accounts, has promoted laws that do not favor or promote cooperatives, and in fact their tendency is to get rid of them.
Urban squats also reflect the deterioration of the quality of life of the workers. Services are inadequate, municipal authorities have been given greater responsibilities but not the funds necessary to carry them out. Sometime the larger amounts of money intended for the municipalities are not used to attend to the need of the population, but rather to strengthen the local oligarchies or to attend to political clients.
In general the entrepreneurs and those who hold the power have their mechanisms and their own timetables for making decisions, and we workers suffer the delays, forced to react to the rapidity of the changes cause by a few. Faced with this situation new challenges have arisen for workers' organizations and for the FAT in particular.
The possibility of confronting these challenges leads us directly to the political arena. In Mexico there have been changes in the last twenty years, but a paradox appears: there are greater channels of citizen participation, but there are also greater economic inequities. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that decisions about economic policies are concentrated a few hands that favor business, while the democratic regime has given greater power to citizens on the local level. Collective forms of organization have dwindled.
State-controlled unionism doesn't show any signs of disappearing, and there are even signs of the new government extending state-control to new sectors of society. All of this leads to the conclusion that we have had a change in government, but not a change in the political regime, nor in the orientation of its labor, economic, or social policies.
The members of the political parties become political professionals; the youth know the laws, participate in elections and in defense of the vote, but they have no experience of social struggle. The old leaders look for posts of power because they think that is the only way to survive in the political arena, and they cut themselves loose from the social movements.
There are examples of struggles that tell us that at present in order for a right or demand of a sector to have broad support, it is necessary that it be taken up by everybody, that it be recognized as a matter of public interest. Civil society and the demands of specific groups of the population have been finding new spaces of influence and participation for the solution of their demands with may forms of social and political organization. Even though they have not succeeded in impacting the fundamental decisions of economic policies, with the opening of participation they have achieved advances in spreading awareness about issues. There is still the challenge of how to link social and civic movements.
It is necessary to get to the point of a social transition. Politics has ceased to have a social agenda and the political parties center their debates on procedures and on the exercise of civil and political rights of the population. They put emphasis on individual consciousness-but not on the sufficient conditions for the exercise of economic and social rights that guarantee a life of dignity for the population. The analysis of the political arena presents us with new challenges at this level, some of which are:
2.2 - The Agenda
The foregoing changes and the challenges that they make to us force us to attend to a group of issues that it is necessary to discuss and propose in order to make up a Broad Agenda with other organizations and an agenda for the FAT itself
In general:
1. Social Reform
2. Building of broad alliances
3. Freedom of association and the organization of workers
4. Putting forward the demands and rights of workers as public issues
5. Development of new forms of union organization
6. Defense of the right of those who perform casual work
7. Building of gender equity in all area of the life of men and women workers
8. Coordination of the struggle for the improvement in conditions and quality of life in all area of work life, in the countryside and the city, in firms and productive projects, in the factory and the neighborhood.
9. Reaffirmation of the identity of the workers in a broad perspective (laborers, farmers, the self-employed) and in various levels, as worker, militant and political activist.
Specifically:
Social reform
Freedom of Association and Organization
Defense of the rights of Workers in Casual Labor
Gender Equity
Coordination of Improvements in the Quality of Life
Provision of basic urban services such as water, attention to the environment and improvements in public security.
[The rest of this document, points 3, 4, and 5, which we have not translated here, deal with matters of internal organization of the FAT. Those points examine how to make the FAT more effective in dealing with the issues raised above. - ed.]