A-Infos (en) WHC-OPEN LETTER TO MEXICAN PRESIDENT

[Western Hemisphere Conference <theorganizer@labornet.org>]

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      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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SUPPORT THE STRIKING HAN YOUNG (HYUNDAI) WORKERS 
IN TIJUANA, MEXICO

ADD YOUR NAME TO THIS OPEN LETTER TO MEXICAN 
PRESIDENT ERNESTO ZEDILLO!

May 27, 1998

Dear Supporters of the Western Hemisphere Workers Conference;
Dear Supporters of Labor and Human Rights:

We urgently need your support for the Open Letter to Mexican President 
Ernesto Zedillo that follows this introductory note. As you can see from 
the information below, workers at the Han Young maquiladora in 
Tijuana went out on strike May 22 to demand a revision of their contract 
so as to include a 35% wage increase, job security, profit-sharing and 
improved health and safety. This is a legal strike under Mexican labor 
law, as it takes place immediately following the expiration of the old 
"protection contract" negotiated in secret two years ago between Han 
Young management and a company union -- the CROC.

It is a very bitter strike. The night before the strike was slated to begin, 
management brought in 30 hired strikebreakers. Their job was to keep 
out the workers and to keep the plant operating. At 6 a.m. on Friday, 
May 22, the Han Young workers had to storm into the plant to unplug 
the machinery -- something the plant managers were required to do 
under Mexican law. Also in violation of Mexican labor law, the police 
were brought in to protect the scabs and management -- rather than 
ensure that the struck plant remained shut with no work being 
performed.

Already one Han Young worker has been jailed. Management is 
threatening to fire many more workers. Death threats have been received 
by some of the local union leaders.

We have an enormous responsibility to build support for these striking 
workers. As Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich) has stated repeatedly, the 
Han Young struggle is a ³test case for NAFTA.² Understanding this 
very point, the Western Hemisphere Workers Conference Against 
NAFTA and Privatizations placed the defense of the Han Young 
workers and their struggle for an independent union at the center of our 
deliberations and ongoing work. In coordination with the San Diego-
based Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers and the Campaign 
For Labor Rights, the WHC Continuations Committee is compiling a 
list of hopefully hundreds of individuals, unions and community 
organizations in support of the Open Letter to President Ernesto Zedillo 
printed below.

We are requesting that unions, organizations and individuals around the 
world endorse this Open Letter. Labor solidarity has no borders.

We intend to deliver this letter personally to the Mexican Consul in San 
Francisco on Friday, June 5. Please sign as an individual (list your title 
and organization for id. only if necessary) or in the name of your union 
or organization. Please help us circulate this Open Letter more widely 
and gather additional signatures.

You can email your endorsement of this Open Letter to our WHC email 
addresses unite@igc.org or Theorganizer@igc.org. You can also mail 
or fax your signatures of endorsement to WHC, c/o San Francisco 
Labor Council, 1188 Frankling St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94109, or 
fax: (415) 440-9297. Please get back to us as soon as possible with 
your reply. The deadline for submitting names is June 3. Thank you. ‹
Ed Rosario and Alan Benjamin

*****************************************

OPEN LETTER TO MEXICAN PRESIDENT ERNESTO ZEDILLO


Ernesto Zedillo
President of Mexico
Fax: 011-525-515-5729

Dear President Zedillo:

We are writing to ask you to intervene in the long-standing struggle at 
Han Young in Tijuana, Baja California.
On May 15, a delegation which included representatives of the federal 
government of Mexico visited Han Young management. They also 
spoke with the workers. According to the workers, the groupıs 
threatening tone suggested strongly that they gave management an 
ultimatum not to negotiate with the independent union if it wants to 
remain in operation.
On December 16, the federal government facilitated the certification of 
the independent union. Although the agreements reached at that time 
appeared to provide a just resolution to the conflict, management and 
local authorities soon began to undermine the agreement, often in 
collusion with representatives of the CTM and the CROC.
The behavior of the May 15 delegation to Han Young, which included 
federal representatives, suggests that the Mexican government may be 
backtracking on its commitment to uphold Mexican federal labor law. 
We ask the Mexican federal government to take a stand in favor of its 
own federal labor law and to ensure that these workersı right to an 
independent union is upheld. After such a lengthy struggle, for the plant 
to be forced to shut down or sold -- as a pretext to force out the 
independent union -- would be a travesty against labor rights.
We are asking you to investigate what is going on at Han Young and 
to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that Mexicoıs federal 
labor law is upheld.
			Sincerely,

(follows complete list of signatories, with titles and organizations. If 
you wish your title and union/organization listed for id. only, please let 
us know and we will note this with an asterisk after your name and a 
footnote below)

cc: President Bill Clinton, the White House, Washington, DC, fax: 
(202) 456-2461


*******************************************************

BACKGROUND ON THE HAN YOUNG STRIKE

Note: The following background information, released on May 22, has 
been provided by the Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers, 
Craftsmen Hall, 3909 Centre St. #210, San Diego, CA 92103. Phone 
(619) 542-0826, Fax (619) 295-5879, email: scmw@uno.com.

Company Management Refuses to Negotiate

Han Young Workers Strike for Independent Union Contract

Workers at the Han Young maquiladora in Tijuana who produce trailer 
chassis for Hyundai Precision America went on strike Friday, May 22, 
to demand a contract for their independent union. To date, company 
management has refused worker demands which include health and 
safety guarantees, job categorization with wages corresponding to 
experience and seniority, break times and payment of profit-sharing as 
required by Mexican labor law. Despite repeated company efforts to 
break the union by bringing in replacement workers, 76 of the 94 
employees at the plant voted to strike.

The Han Young workers won recognition for their own independent 
union in an historic direct challenge to the "protection contract" system 
that prevails within the Mexican maquiladora industry. The majority of 
maquiladoras have contracts with government-affiliated unions, often 
without the knowledge or participation of workers.

Despite the recognition, according to Han Young workers, the company 
continues its efforts to destroy the union unchecked by government 
officials. After a February 1998 hearing in San Diego regarding charges 
of Mexican government failure to uphold workers' right to organize as 
required under NAFTA, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman requested 
ministerial consultations between herself and Mexican Minister of Labor 
Javier Bonilla on the subject. In a press statement released by the 
Mexican Embassy in Washington on April 29, Bonilla refused Secretary 
Herman's request, calling it "inappropriate." Later, however, Bonilla 
told Herman that he had no idea how the statement was issued and that 
he never had made such a declaration.

The Han Young plant has been called a "test case" of Mexico's 
willingness to comply with its commitments to labor rights under the 
NAFTA labor side accords by Congressman David Bonior and other 
members of Congress. It was the subject of talks between President 
Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and President Zedillo of Mexico last 
November. After those talks, a representative of Bonilla was dispatched 
to Tijuana to facilitate the union's recognition by the government, given 
that -- despite an overwhelming majority vote -- local officials had 
refused to certify the union. Bonilla resigned his office last week amidst 
pressure from the National Business Owners Association about his 
handling of the situation at Han Young, according to informed sources.

According to Han Young workers, company management and the 
workers were visited on Friday, May 15 by representatives of SECOFI 
(Secretary of Commerce), COPAMEX (National Business Owners 
Association) and Gobernacion (Department of Internal Affairs and 
Immigration), who they believe told management not to negotiate with 
the union. The same officials held a talk geared at intimidating workers 
at the plant.

On Tuesday, May 19, at a hearing before the Tijuana labor board to 
initiate contract negotiations, the company refused to negotiate, 
prompting the strike action.


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