A-Infos (en) Han Young: January 31, 1998

["Shawn Ewald" <shawn@wilshire.net>]

________________________________________________
     A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
           http://www.ainfos.ca/
________________________________________________

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Sat, 31 Jan 1998 21:06:30 -0800 (PST)
To:            clr@igc.org
From:          Campaign for Labor Rights <clr@igc.apc.org>
Subject:       Han Young: January 31, 1998

Labor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor Rights
To receive our email labor alerts, send a message to CLR@igc.apc.org
Phone: (541) 344-5410       Web site: http://www.compugraph.com/clr
Membership/newsletter. Send $35.00 to Campaign for Labor Rights, 1247 "E"
Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. Sample newsletter available on request.

[Information provided by the Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers, who
ask that activists seeking updates contact Campaign for Labor Rights: (541)
344-5410, <CLR@igc.apc.org>]

HAN YOUNG: January 31, 1998
Talks underway but no contract bargaining yet. Han Young management still
violating agreements and Mexican law. Please continue planning for February
7 actions. New letter to Han Young attorney. NAO case hearing still
scheduled for February 18.

Background: Workers at Han Young (a small feeder factory for the Hyundai
Precision America tractor trailer plant near Tijuana, Mexico) have twice
voted to be represented by STIMAHCS, a union affiliated with the independent
FAT labor federation. After a roller coaster series of events, on January
14, the Mexican federal government stepped in to broker an agreement between
the workers and Han Young management. Since then, although the overall
atmosphere has improved, Han Young management continue to violate some terms
of the agreement, as well as the terms of the existing contract and Mexican
labor law.

As reported earlier, Han Young management have given STIMAHCS a copy of the
existing contract but have not yet signed the contract over to STIMAHCS and
have not yet begun collective bargaining over changes in the contract.

Hyundai has been facilitating resolution between management and the workers
and initiation of talks with the company by representatives of the workers.
The workers are very hopeful about these developments.

Because there has not yet been a process of collective bargaining resulting
in a new contract, plans are still moving forward for an NAO hearing on
February 18. (The NAO, National Administrative Office, is the branch of the
U.S. Labor Department responsible for implementing the labor side agreement
under NAFTA.) If there is a breakthrough and significant agreements are
made, the NAO case could be halted.

REQUESTED ACTIONS:

1) February 7 day of local actions in solidarity with the Han Young workers.
Because management still has not engaged in good-faith collective
bargaining, continuing international pressure is vitally important. Please
continue to plan for demonstrations on Saturday, February 7 and please let
us know of your plans. Activities can be held at Mexican consulates, U.S.
government buildings or other public locations but these are NOT
demonstrations against any government.

2) New letter to Han Young attorney. We receive many inquiries from
activists who wonder whether these faxes do any good. We know for a fact
that faxes are not only helpful but, in some instances, faxes have proved
decisive in moving the process forward. This is the case with the faxes
which a number of you recently sent to Han Young's attorney. We have
provided a new sample fax, below. Even if you have sent a fax recently, a
new fax would be very helpful.

Lic. Ricardo Estrada
Tijuana, Mexico
Fax: 011-526-634-3554

Dear Mr. Estrada:

In open defiance of the January 14 agreements signed by your client, Han
Young, a representative of the CROC continues to be allowed to function in a
"human relations" capacity at the factory. Also, management continues to
take illegal punitive actions against workers who press for contract
negotiations to begin. Han Young management has cited you as its counsel
when blatantly violating Mexican labor law and blatantly violating the terms
of the existing contract. 

You have a reputation as an intelligent and knowledgeable lawyer. Certainly,
you would not want to risk your professional stature for the sake of one
rogue client, the Han Young management.

The Mexican federal government has emphatically stated its intention to
enforce the terms of the January 14 agreements and to implement Mexican
labor law with regard to the Han Young situation.

Barring a satisfactory resolution of the situation at Han Young, the U.S.
National Administrative Office will press forward with its hearing still
scheduled for February 18. I hardly need to remind you of the urgency which
the Mexican government feels about resolving this situation and avoiding a
hearing.

Time is running short. I urge you to steer your client in a direction which
will not put you on a collision course with the Mexican federal government.
Please see to it that Han Young management immediately ceases its violations
of the January 14 agreements and its violations of Mexican labor law.

Sincerely,


CC: Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers, fax: (619) 295-5879


__________________________
Radio4All:
http://www.radio4all.org/
The A-Infos Radio Project:
http://radio4all.web.net/

Public PGP Block: http://www.radio4all.org/pgp/

     ****** A-Infos News Service *****
  News about and of interest to anarchists

Subscribe -> email MAJORDOMO@TAO.CA
             with the message SUBSCRIBE A-INFOS
Info      -> http://www.ainfos.ca/
Reproduce -> please include this section