The Basic Motors facility in Silao, Mexico. Picture Credit score: Luis Antonio Rojas for The New York Occasions.
Unions make life higher for staff. That’s the concept. However what if the unions are corrupt? What if union management works for the good thing about employers? That’s the actuality for labor in Mexico.
Mexico has massive factories. It’s a wealthy nation in Latin America. But its staff nonetheless earn low wages in comparison with different international locations within the area.
The unions in Mexico are the rationale. Massive unions are carefully allied with politicians and employers. They’ve saved wages low. They’ve made it arduous to prepare new unions. Their leaders have wealth and energy. There may be suspicion of corruption.
A team of workers in a big Basic Motors plant is altering issues. They’ve shaped an impartial union. They wish to characterize the employees within the plant. An election will happen subsequent week.
The vote is a take a look at of labor reforms. They’re a part of the brand new North American Free Commerce Settlement. The previous system saved staff from getting paid or extra advantages than the minimal legislation.
A win for an impartial union at GM may mark the start of one thing massive. An observer mentioned, “It might have a domino impact. It’s proof which you can get a union that’s making an attempt to characterize the employees’ pursuits.”
Situations on the plant are harsh. Managers attempt to velocity up manufacturing. They deny staff toilet breaks for hours on finish. Employees mentioned managers have advised them that common journeys to the toilet weren’t assured of their labor contract.
Basic Motors says the costs usually are not true. The Confederation of Mexican Employees is the present union. It didn’t reply to questions.
GM staff begin at 9 {dollars} a day. That’s 60 cents above the minimal wage. After 5 years of employment, staff hit the wage ceiling. That ceiling is round $23 per day. It’s lower than staff in Detroit make in an hour.
Mexico is a wealthy nation in comparison with El Salvador. The wages within the two international locations are about the identical.
The brand new Mexican commerce pact modified issues. It made it simpler for brand new unions to kind. The Mexican authorities has to step in. Getting the election achieved proper is not going to be straightforward. U.S. labor leaders help efforts to lift the wages of Mexican staff. They’ve a purpose. Increased wages in Mexico would possibly maintain some jobs in the US.
Commerce unions have been the trail to a greater lifestyle for thousands and thousands. The rights of staff within the non-public sector have at all times been hard-won. It’s time for Mexico to assist its labor drive.
Supply: The New York Occasions February 2, 2022
