Labor Notes: Mexican GM Workers Vote for New Union

Mexican GM Workers Vote for New Union

Auto workers at a General Motors plant in central Mexico delivered a landslide victory to an independent union in a vote held the first two days of February. It’s a major breakthrough for workers and labor activists seeking to break the vice grip of the employer-friendly unions in the Congress of Mexican Labor (CTM), that have long dominated Mexico’s labor movement.

Turnout among the plant’s 6,300 eligible voters was 88%. The independent union SINTTIA (the National Auto Workers Union) picked up 4,192 votes — 78% of the vote. SINTTIA, which grew out of the successful campaign which ousted the previous corrupt union last year, promised to raise wages and fight for workers on the shop floor.

“Today I believe we as workers are more united than ever,” said Alejandra Morales, SINTTIA’s principal officer, who has worked at the plant for 11 years. “Not only in Silao, but in all of Mexico.” 

CTM affiliates, tied to the long-ruling PRI, have long been criticized for signing employer-friendly “protection contracts,” which lock in low wages and prevent workers from organizing genuine unions.

SINTTIA’s victory is a shot in the arm for the independent union movement in Mexico; the vote was closely followed domestically and internationally.

“What we hope is that [workers at] new companies see that they can beat the CTM,” said Juan Armando Fajardo Rivera, the union’s press secretary, who has worked at the plant for 13 years. “The CTM isn’t invincible. If you want a union, you can achieve it with the new reform.”

Video interview with new union leaders. https://therealnews.com/mexican-auto-workers-just-made-history-by-taking-back-their-union

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International Support

Support for the effort to vote in a genuine union at GM Silao poured in from unions and labor activists across the globe. Unionists from Brazil, Canada, and the U.S. joined an international delegation to support the vote.

“It’s important to recognize the commitment of workers from other countries,” said Morales, “because it’s important that the whole working class, not just from here but globally, be in constant communication for the betterment of everyone.”

Once the results are certified by Mexican labor authorities, SINTTIA will enter negotiations with GM. This week, GM reported a record $10 billion in profits last year.

Workers at the Silao plant make the lucrative Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, but earn less than $25 for a 12-hour shift. Foremost on their minds is a wage increase. “What workers would like most is to have a decent salary that is enough for their day-to-day [needs],” said Morales.

Video interview with new union leaders. https://therealnews.com/mexican-auto-workers-just-made-history-by-taking-back-their-union

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Memphis Starbucks Workers Fired for Unionizing Efforts

Recently fired Starbucks workers are speaking out after they were fired by the coffee chain for organizing a union drive at a Memphis store. The workers say they refuse to be silenced and are calling on Starbucks employees around the country to unionize more locations.

After a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York became the first unionized Starbucks store in the U.S. a wave of workers at 67-plus stores began to join the #UnionsForAll movement fighting for safer working conditions, higher wages, fair schedules and more.

 Starbucks is raking in record-profits while employees are reporting hours getting cut and retaliation for their union organizing. They’re pulling out the same tactics that many other employers have tried.

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Amazon Workers in Alabama Try Again for Union

Amazon workers at the Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse are voting to unionize for the second time in a mail-in election that began 2.4. The new vote comes after the National Labor Relations Board found Amazon unlawfully interfered with the first election last year.

In a related development, Amazon was able to dodge over $5 billion in federal income taxes in 2021. Amazon reported record revenue of $35 billion last year but benefited from a federal income tax rate of just 6%, thanks to corporate tax breaks voted in by Democrats and Republicans, at the expense of working people.