Labor Alerts: a free service of Campaign for Labor Rights To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Web site <www.summersault.com/~agj/clr> Phone (541) 344-5410 Fax (541) 431-0523 Membership/newsletter: Send $35.00 to Campaign for Labor Rights, 1247 "E" Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. Sample newsletter available on request. MEXICO: FRUIT PROCESSING WORKERS SEEK INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR A FAIR CONTRACT posted October 2,1999 In this alert: Mexican fruit processing workers seek international support Action Request Update: The FAT responds to letters from Price Labor Defense Network <><><><><> MEXICAN FRUIT PROCESSING WORKERS SEEK INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR A FAIR CONTRACT [Compiled by Campaign for Labor Rights from information provided by the Frente Autentico de Trabajo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>] The workers at Congeladora del Rio, a fruit processing plant in Irapuato, Mexico have called for international solidarity in support of their struggle for a fair and collectively bargained contract with the owner, Arthur Price of Global Trading, Inc. The Frente Autentico del Trabajo (FAT), the largest independent union in Mexico, has been helping to organize the workers at the plant for several months. The union went through proper legal channels to determine whether a collective bargaining agreement had ever been filed at the labor ministry and were assured that it had not. When the union presented its own collective bargaining agreement, a company union was created and a “contract” which had not been negotiated with workers suddenly appeared. On July 15, 1999, 200 workers - the majority of them women and young teenage girls - went on strike demanding a settlement of their contract. The Mexican Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration tabled the demands of the strikers, leaving the workers without the legal protection which Mexican labor law mandates for striking workers. Fed up with the company’s excuses and the government's lack of initiative to help them, on Friday September 17, the workers at Congeladora del Rio set up a picket line outside their plant to demand a fair contract. The company's response has been to bus in 25 workers from another town, the majority teenage females, to cross the picket line and work at Congeladora del Rio. The union, which is affiliated with the Frente Autentico del Trabajo (FAT), demanded legal protection for its striking workers through an appeal to a federal judge on behalf of the workers. Two workers have decided to sit outside the factory until the contract is signed, and other strikers, who are suffering great economic hardship, are picketing outside the plant at various hours around the clock. The company once again called on the police to intervene and use force if necessary. The police immediately responded to the call of the company by sending armed guards to observe and thus intimidate workers with their presence. On September 27, in a very disappointing but all-too-common move, the labor board rejected the workers' appeal, ruling against legal protection for the striking workers. The working conditions in the plant are unacceptable. Teenagers work 12- to 14-hour shifts, employees are not given protective gloves and clothing, and workers are paid just over four dollars for a day´s work. The workers at Congeladora del Rio are simply demanding their most basic rights under Mexican labor law: just salaries, reasonable workdays, and adequate hygiene and safety conditions. The strikers are asking basic questions, such as: Why does the company insist on denying the right of workers to have an independent union, to have collective bargaining rights, and the right to strike? Why does Congeladora del Rio continue to pay miserable salaries and utilize child labor? <><><><><> ACTION REQUEST Please copy, sign and send (by email or fax) the following letters to Arthur Price, president of Global Trading (which owns Congeladora del Rio). Please also send the signature portion of the letter (with your name and address) to Campaign for Labor Rights by email <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or fax (541) 431-0523. Please fill in: YOUR NAME YOUR COMPLETE POSTAL ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATION (if applicable) The letter will note that organizational affiliations are listed for identification purposes only. Arthur Price President, Global Trading, Inc. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> fax: (864) 234-5815 Dear Mr. Price, I am writing to express my deep concern about the labor dispute at Congeladora del Rio, a fruit processing plant owned by your company, Global Trading, Inc. I understand that over 200 workers in this plant have organized themselves into an independent union, affiliated with the Frente Autentico del Trabajo (FAT), but that you and your representatives in Mexico have refused to recognize the union or negotiate a collectively bargained contract with them. Instead, your company produced a company (yellow) union and a contract which had not been negotiated with workers. This type of company unionism is against Mexican labor law, as it is in the U.S. and in Canada. Workers report that your plant does not pay a decent enough wage for adults to support their families and employs teenagers at substandard wages. Workers make less than $4 a day toiling for 12 to 14 hours a day with inadequate protective gloves and clothing. I am sure that you do not want to be publicly associated with such disrespectful treatment of workers, especially women and children. I call on you to recognize the independent union at Congeladora del Rio and to sign a fair contract with the workers. Sincerely, <><><><><> UPDATE: THE FAT RESPONDS TO LETTERS FROM PRICE Arthur Price, the president of Global Trading, Inc., the company which owns Congeladora del Rio, has sent responses to people who have written him letters in solidarity with the workers. The following is from a statement by the FAT responds to the statements made by Price about the situation: The FAT has been fighting for democracy and to improve working conditions in Mexico for 39 years. In these 39 years, we have found that this type of struggle is not uncommon. The Federal Government, via Mexico’s labor boards, consistently decides in favor of business and corrupt company unions over a democratic union that actually represents the workers and fights for their interests. With this in mind, Mr. Price has said that only 20 workers are supporting the FAT. The truth is that the FAT has the support, as well as the signed documents of affiliation, of more than 200 workers. Mr. Price says the previous union represented the employees' interests, but in actuality it was Price who suggested wages and conditions of employment and not the workers or their union. This type of company unionism is against Mexican labor law, as it is in the U.S. and in Canada. Mr. Price claims that the workers already have a union contract which was signed by Mexico´s Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration. Nevertheless, this is an illegal contract because it was drafted and signed without the support of the majority of workers. A few days after this contract was signed, the FAT discussed this issue with Mr. Price. Although the contract which the company had signed was not exactly what the workers wanted, the employees agreed to accept that contract under the condition that the company recognize the FAT as the workers' union. This was not a decision of union leaders, but of the workers at Congeladora del Rio. Nevertheless, the FAT is still not recognized by Mr. Price. Mr. Price claims that the minors who work at his plant have brought signed permission from their parents to work at the factory. This may be true considering the extreme poverty and desperation of many families in Mexico. Nevertheless, in a country where over 60% of adult workers are unable to find a stable job, the idea that Mr. Price is helping poor Mexican families by utilizing child labor is ludicrous. In actuality, by utilizing women and school children, Mr. Price is able to pay lower wages than is the norm for Mexican workers in this type of industry. We have seen first-hand Mr. Price´s concern for his employees when teenagers work 12- to 14-hour shifts, employees are not given protective gloves and clothing, and workers are paid just over four dollars for a day´s work. Mr. Price has also claimed that the FAT has hired armed thugs to beat up those who refuse to affiliate with the FAT. This simply is not true. He also claims that strikers are using pipes and clubs to beat up those who cross their picket line. Although tensions are running high at Congeladora del Rio, strikers have not conducted acts of violence. The company says that one woman was badly cut while crossing the picket line. The truth is that rather than confront the workers, this woman climbed a wall with barbed wire to get to the plant, cutting herself in the process. On September 21, a judge held a hearing concerning the contract. In a hearing of this type in Mexico, there is no reason for the parties to appear unless they are presenting new arguments which have not been written beforehand. Mr. Price claimed that since the FAT did not appear at the hearing, they have not taken this struggle seriously. It is obvious that Mr. Price and/or his lawyers are ill informed or not familiar with Mexican labor law. We hope that these clarifications serve to solidify your solidarity with the workers at Congeladora del Rio. Thank you for your support. In solidarity, your brothers and sisters at the FAT. <><><><><> LABOR DEFENSE NETWORK The Labor Defense Network (LDN) was mobilized around the crisis at Congeladora del Rio. LDN is an emergency response system, sending faxes in the name of its member subscribers when there is a labor rights emergency in Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. To have 6 faxes sent in your name during the year, send $25. For 12 faxes, send $50. Members receive the monthly Urgent Action newsletter, which details all the recent mobilizations. To join, write a check to Labor Defense Network for $25 (6 messages) or $50 (12 messages) and send it to 1247 "E" Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. For more information, call (202) 544-9355 or write to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
