A round-up of the Mexico Days of Action This article was compiled and edited by Robin Alexander from material

posted on the IndustriALL and USLEAP web sites, an article by Dean Hubbard, and from various reports and interviews regarding actions coordinated by the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance (TNSA). (For more information about particular struggles, check out the backgrounder at http://www.usleap.org/files/2013%20Feb%20Background%20for%20Days%20of%20Action.doc) Unions and worker rights supporters took action around the world as part of a week of action running from February 18 to 24, 2013. The Days of Action in solidarity with the independent trade unions in Mexico focused on the need to roll back regressive labor law changes that were approved in the fall of 2012, to support workers at key conflicts, and to end the persecution, arrests and criminalization of struggles of democratic trade unions and the workers they represent. Another key demand was that the Mexican government take action in accordance with the International Labor Organization recommendations to address the pervasive protection contract system that is used by employers, company-friendly unions, and the government to avoid representation by democratic unions and to deny workers their basic rights. In the United States where comprehensive immigration reform is under consideration, unions also called on the Mexican government to reaffirm its commitment to protect the rights of immigrant workers in the United States while also ensuring that the rights of all workers are also rigorously protected and enforced in Mexico. This effort was coordinated worldwide by the Global Union Federations (GUFS) and in North America by the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance (TNSA).
GUFS Put Out a Call Worldwide

All the Global Unions and the International Trade Union Confederation supported the 2013 Days of Action. IndustriALL took a major lead in coordinating actions throughout the world and in providing posters, a model letter to send to embassies and consulates, and background materials. They also created a short video featuring Benedicto Martnez (FAT), Napoleon Gmez Urrutia (Los Mineros) and Martn Esparza (SME), which provided an opportunity to hear directly from Mexican union leaders. Following the week of action, IndustriALL posted reports from dozens of countries around the world. http://www.industriall-union.org/mexico-actions-2013 For example, UNI Global Union reported that more than 200 people participated in rallies in Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and members of the ITUC, gathered in Sao Paulo, Brazil for a meeting of the TUCA, demonstrated together at the Mexican Consulate in So Paulo. The 800,000 member CNM-CUT delivered a letter to Mexican ambassador Alejandro De la Pea Navarrete and to PKC, in solidarity with the Los Mineros attempt to organize there. As described by IndustriALLs Suzanna Miller, in addition to what they called the Global Campaign, IndustriALL took an important further step to involve their affiliates. She explained that they wanted to inform workers belonging to specific industrial sectors/transnational corporations about the concrete conflicts and difficulties that the Mexican workers were facing every day in the same TNCs. The idea was to develop and encourage solidarity directly from workers to workers/unions to unions. They asked unions that they had been working with in Mexico to

identify key struggles along with several key demands. The ongoing conflicts in Mexico that were highlighted included Bata/Sandak (FAT); Continental Tires (STGTM); PKC (Los Mineros); Honda (Stuhm); and SME. According to Miller: Then we asked our sectoral networks to write to the Company and to the Government of Mexico to demand respect for the workers rights and resolution of the conflict, depending on the case. For example, we asked the Rubber/Tire Network to write to Continental in Germany protesting against the exclusion of the SNTGTM from the Sectoral collective agreement which was in negotiations and to the Mexican government denouncing the arbitrary decision of the Labour Court to exclude SNTGTM from the agreement. We asked all the Electricity unions in the IndustriALL electrical unions/energy network to support SMEs demand to reinstate the 16,599 workers, release the 10 political prisoners and write to the Mexican government to denounce the unfair ruling of the Supreme Court, etc. As Los Mineros defined that their major focus (apart from Pasta de Conchos) was to reinstate the PKC dismissed workers, a specific campaign was developed with LabourStart and some 10,000 letters were sent to the PKC CEO in Finland!! And the Auto sector networks are pressing the major Auto buyers to investigate the violations committed by PKC a supplier demanding that the contracts be re-discussed. Both Gerdau and Tenaris networks leafleted in all the unionised plants worldwide about the protection contracts in these companies in Mexico! In cases like BATA/SANDAK several video messages from International Executive Committee Members of IndustriALL from affiliated unions in Australia, Japan, Spain, Bangladesh and Argentina and from affiliates in the Shoe-Garment sector were posted on our website and Solidarity letters were sent from workers to workers/unions to unions. Miller concluded: The idea was to facilitate this relation between workers and unions and we know that now that the contacts have been made, this relationship continues and can develop to be a solidarity campaign on a longer term basis.
Solidarity Throughout North America

Meanwhile, the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance (TNSA), composed of unions and worker rights organizations from Mexico, Canada and the U.S., coordinated its largest effort so far, reporting actions in Mexico City, several cities in Canada and Quebec and seventeen US cities. US Leap provided information on its web site for actions that varied from protests to delivering letters to consular offices and embassies. Activities were organized in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland, Raleigh, Seattle, Tucson, and Washington, DC., with many organizations assuming responsibility for the various locations.
Canada/Quebec

Canadian unions, led by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), met with the Mexican Embassy in Ottawa to express grave concerns about Mexicos ongoing and flagrant violations of international labor rights and standards. The delegation presented Embassy Officials with the ITUCs 2012 report on Mexican trade union rights violations and a letter to the Mexican President, calling on the Mexican Government to deliver on the common demands of the international days of action. In addition, the delegation raised the failure of the Mexican Government to properly investigate the CLC complaint against Canadian-based Excellon Resources under the OECD corporate responsibility guidelines. On February 22, a USW delegation in Toronto met with Consul General Mauricio Toussaint and his staff. The USW described their view and that of the Canadian labor movement concerning the repression in Mexico of democratic trade union rights and the particular attacks on Los Mineros.

Trade unions in Vancouver, including Los Mineros, USW, COPE 378, CUPE and CEP, held an action at the Mexican Consulate. A high level trade union delegation met Mexico's Consul General in Vancouver, Angel Villalobos, and the exiled General Secretary of Los Mineros, Napoleon Gmez Urrutia, addressed a rally in front of the Consulate. Gmez Urrutia also participated by teleconference in a dinner conference organized by the Centre Internationational de Solidarit Ouvrire (CISO) in Montreal, Quebec. CISO, a coalition effort of Quebecois trade unions engaged in international solidarity efforts, reported that Gmez Urrutia, spoke in French which was greatly appreciated and seen as a sign of respect and solidarity with the Qubec union movement. A delegation from CISO, CSN, CSQ, FIQ and FTQ, Quebecois trade unions representing 1,150,000 workers, delivered their grave concerns in a visit to the Consul General of Mexico in Montral, Mr. Porfirio Martnez Morales.
Mexico

The Mexican days of action started solemnly on the evening of February 18 with a silent march shutting down traffic from the Monumento de la Revolucin to the Angel de la Independencia in mourning for the 65 miners killed in the Pasta de Conchos criminal industrial homicide. The 65 symbolic coffins were placed at the monument and the mineworkers from all sections and locals held an overnight vigil gathering. SME, UNTTYP, Continental Tires Workers, FAT, CAW, CSN, USW, UE and IndustriALL Global Union participated in solidarity with Los Mineros. Following the march, various union leaders including IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Fernando Lopes addressed the gathering, conveying a message of solidarity from its 50 million members. Los Mineros maintained an encampment throughout the night. The following morning, the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance convened a large press conference at the headquarters of the Asociacin Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores de Mxico (ASPA), with the full participation of Mexico's democratic trade unions and an impressive international delegation from TNSA. Representatives from the US, Canada and Mexico spoke as well as from UNI. ITF, and IndustriALL Global Union. Capitn Carlos Manuel Daz Chvez Morineau, General Secretary of ASPA and Co-President of the National Union of Workers (UNT) opened the session, declaring: The Tri-National Solidarity Alliance (TNSA) continues to make a tremendous effort to make the struggles in our countries known and has had great success over these years. International solidarity in this globalized world plays an important role in the defense of the rights of workers in our countries and in making people aware of their struggles, and this space of labor coordination is, until now the most useful means we have found to articulate our demands in the North American region. Faced with the multinational action of capital, multinational action by workers is necessary! UEs Director of Organization Bob Kingsley denounced the systematic violation of internationally recognized labor rights across all industrial sectors and regions of Mexico, the repression and persecution of trade union leaders and activists, and the continued use of protection contracts that benefit employers at the workers expense. He declared: It is time for Mexican authorities to act on the recommendations of the International Labor Organizations Committee on the Freedom of Association to examine and ultimately end problem of protection contracts.

He also condemned the recent corporate friendly rewrite of Mexican labor law. Among the worst of many bad elements in this regressive reform is the elimination of job security guarantees and the encouragement of more temporary and precarious work. My union has broad experience with the plethora or problems arising from precarious employment in the US. Poverty wages. Unsafe conditions. Uncertain futures. The undermining of health and retirement security. This is a wrong path in both of our countries. It hurts workers. It helps only bosses. It breeds exploitation. He demanding that the government of Enrique Pena Nieto respect freedom of association, respect labor rights, and act on the need for decent work for all Mexicans. And we put governments in both of our countries on notice, he concluded, that we are prepared to fight for these rights and to keep on fighting until justice is won. Doug Olthuis, head of the Canadian USW delegation in Mexico reported that during the International Week of Action in support of independent Mexican unions a delegation of eight trade union leaders and activists from the United Steelworkers (USW), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Communication Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) participated in a fact-finding and solidarity tour to learn first-hand about the impacts of Canadian mining companies (Excellon Resources and Fortuna Silver) on the rights of communities and workers in the Mexican states of Durango and Oaxaca. The delegation met with community representatives, union leaders, and workers who had been sacked by Excellon Resources for supporting Local 309 of Los Mineros. He reported that the delegation found the first-hand accounts of workers and community members of rights violations credible and were angered and appalled by the lack of respect shown to them by these companies. The concluded by saying that the delegation was also inspired by the courage and solidarity shown by workers and communities as they continue to fight for their rights. That afternoon the delegation from the CSN met with the representative from Qubec in Mexico. They found her to be interested and receptive and, in what they termed a very productive meeting, they were able to provide her with extensive information both about the independent trade union movement and the violation of labor rights by the Mexican government and transnational corporations. The day concluded with a rousing event at the headquarters of the SME where speakers called for Repeal of the labor law reform An end to protection contracts and corporativist control by the Mexican state Replacement of the Labor Arbitration and Conciliation Boards; and Restoration of purchasing power and a settlement of continuing labor conflicts. To view to entire program at the SME, see http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v=8fy5gXrgybQ On the morning of February 20, thousands of workers from SME gathered before the Supreme Court to demand a reversal of the order revoking the favorable decision by the appellate court specializing in labor matters (Segundo Tribunal Colegiado en Materia de Trabajo). In the afternoon, SME marched to the Secretariat of the Interior where a commission composed of the unions central committee met with the authorities. A point of agreement presented by the PRD and supported by the PRI exhorts the executive branch to find a solution to the conflict that has left 16,599 workers without employment.

On February 21-22 the SME and telephone workers organized delegations which presented the declaration of the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance in meetings at the embassies of Canada, France, Japan, Spain, Norway, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, India Argentina and the US, calling on those governments to send a message to the Mexican government regarding trade union rights. See the video here. The TNSA declaration was also published in La Jornada. (The English version appears above).
United States

The AFL-CIO organized a large rally in Washington DC involving a range of unions including UAW, AFL-CIO, AFT, CWA, NALC and AFGE. The action outside the Mexican Embassy was filled with boisterous chants calling for an end to protection contracts. A senior trade union delegation conveyed the international demands of the campaign in a meeting with Embassy staff while the chanting continued outside. The AFL-CIO also reached out to its affiliates which organized actions in Houston, Miami, Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. In LA, a trade union delegation composed of representatives from the USW, UE and AFL-CIO met the Mexican Consul General, David Figueroa Ortega, and lodged the campaign's demands. The vivid example of violations of trade union rights at PKC in Ciudad Acua was detailed by the trade unionists as one illustrative example of the widespread problems throughout Mexico. The USW took the lead in Chicago, where a major snowstorm the previous day did not deter some 75 demonstrators who mobilized outside the Mexican Consulate with banners and a symbolic miner's coffin. Meanwhile, in Tucson, Arizona, USW Local 937 led a demonstration outside the Mexican Consulate, together with trade unionists from PALF, IATSE, CWA and IAM. The demonstrators there observed a moment of silence for the Pasta de Conchos victims. And in Indianapolis USW District 7 organized a rally in front of the Mexican Consulate. UE Regional President Peter Knowlton requested a meeting in Boston with the Mexican Consul Carlos G. Obrador Garrido Cuesta for a labor delegation that also included Russ Davis, Executive Director MA Jobs with Justice and Sonny Eddleston, MA Steelworkers (USW). They reported that they presented the General Consul with the Days of Action demands and a letter to the President of Mexico expressing support for labor rights in Mexico and criticism of the recent labor law reforms that restricted workers rights and mimic what companies do in the US (and other countries), especially regarding precarious or contract or temp workers. They also conveyed their support for justice and dignity for the Los Mineros miners and their families. According to Knowlton, As has become the custom at these meetings, we discussed the lack of labor and immigrant rights in the US and the need for their support of these rights here in the US and in Mexico. We cautioned the General Consul on their governments desire to take the US free trade path of free markets, privatization, and greed at the expense of social policies and benefits which help all the people, not just those at the top. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a UE delegation met with consular staff and reported that they were welcoming and positive and that they would make a report to the Consul General. The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) spearheaded a solidarity event in New York City that brought activists from LCLAA, NLG, UAW, Laborers, 1199 SEIU, UFT, UFCW, Painters, TWU, CWA, Cornell Global Labor Institute, Middle Church, Asociacin Tepayac, and others together in a rally in front of the Mexican consulate. A delegation met with Cnsul Alonso Martnez and his staff and delivered a joint letter and a copy of the 2012 Resolution of the International Tribunal on Union Freedom of Association in Mexico.

Sonia Ivany, the President of New York City LCLAA, acknowledged that the United States has many problems with the way it is treating workers, especially workers from Mexico. But she pointed out that with a global economy and serious talk about comprehensive immigration reform, what happens to workers in Mexico affects workers here, and what happens to workers in the United States impacts Mexico. NLGs Dean Hubbard raised the overall problem of the attacks on independent unions and their supporters in Mexico, as well as the specific cases of the cover-up of the deaths of 65 miners in the Pasta de Conchos disaster, the forced exile of Los Mineros leader Napoleon Gmez Urrutia in Canada, the continued refusal to reinstate 16,599 members of SME who were fired at gunpoint in 2009, and the specific issues of anti-worker labor law "reform" and protection contracts. Joel Magallan, the Executive Director of Asociacin Tepeyac, pointed out that the so-called labor law reform was passed in the waning days of the administration of former President Calderon, and suggested that the new President, Enrique Pea Nieto, should revisit this ill-advised legislation. Martnez and the consulate staff agreed to convey the concerns to the President of the Republic and to the Ambassador in Washington DC, and to respond point by point in writing to the specific issues raised by the activists. The NLG also took the lead in organizing an action in Denver, Colorado, where a coalition of local labor activists from the Denver Area Labor Federation, CWA, Mail Handlers Union, Jobs with Justice and NLG conducted a picket and then delivered a joint letter during a meeting with the Mexican Vice-Consul. Austin tn Cerca collected signatures on a letter that they delivered to the Mexican consulate along with the Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Central Labor Council, Austin pro Justicia MX and community members. In Kansas City, representatives from the Cross-Border Network, USW, CWA and Jobs with Justice met with the new Mexican Consul, Alicia Kerber, in Kansas City. They delivered a letter and spent over an hour discussing both the situation in Mexico and up-coming immigration reform in the United States. And in New Orleans, members of the National Guestworkers Alliance (NGA) delivered a letter to the Mexican consul. The UAW took the lead in Detroit, where they screened a short film about the PKC campaign in Ciudad Acua at Solidarity House in Detroit. Following the film, a dozen participants a letter from President King to the Mexican Consulate. According to Pete DeMay, We were almost immediately received and the official who we spoke with was very courteous and seemed to take our concerns seriously. We have a strong relationship with the consulate and deal with them frequently on immigration issues.
Ni un paso atras

As we go to press, IndustriALL is still receiving reports from around the world. However, they estimate that actions took place in around 50 countries, an impressive message of solidarity and protest. As expressed by Fernando Lopes: it is clear that when workers around the world are demonstrating that they are supportive of our Mexican comrades that means that we can win together: hasta la victoria, ni un paso atrs.

The assessment from Mexican unions was also enthusiastic. Writing on behalf of the Mexican TNSA unions, Jorge Robles declared: The experience of the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance (Mexico) is more important than one can imagine. In the Mexican context the difficulty imposed on the exercise of freedom of association and the restrictions on internal democracy within our unions by our labor legislation are well known. But TNSA-Mexico has been able to bring together the principal independent labor organizations within a framework of unity of action and it has become the most collegial and committed of the processes we have been developing in Mexico. We have much left to do: improve our international coordination and initiate, from Mexico, campaigns in solidarity with the working class of Canada and the United States, as well as to define appropriate actions in solidarity with struggles here in our own country. May this Alliance enjoy health and a long life! And the best of it is that this is all up to us!