From: Maquila Solidarity Network <info@maquilasolidarity.org>

Duro Worker Update: Faxes needed for Wednesday a.m.

Tuesday Evening, January 30, 2001
Urgent Action Alert

Mexican Government to Hold Hearing Tomorrow (Wednesday)

Questioning Legitimacy of Duro Workers' Union;
20 Duro Workers Fired as Fox Government Shows Its Hand

We received the following information from the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM), of which the MSN is a member. Duro workers in Rio Bravo, Mexico have been fighting for an independent union for over one year. Just as it appeared the Mexican government would allow the workers to democratically choice which union they choice to be represented by, the government has placed another bureaucratic hurdle in their way that could deny them their democratic right to freedom of association.

Instead of setting a date for a union representation election in the case of Duro Bag Manufacturing, the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (FCAB) in Mexico City has ruled that the independent union's leaders must come to a yet another hearing tomorrow morning, Wednesday January 31, to determine if their union even has standing to be on the ballot. According to the workers' lawyer, the FCAB is violating its own procedures just to stall the election. In fact, this decision represents a total reversal of an earlier decision by the same FCAB recognizing the independent Duro Workers Union.

WE REALIZE THIS IS VERY SHORT NOTICE, but if you are able to do so, please send e-mails of support as early as you can on Wednesday, January 31.

We will send out another update in the next day or two on what further actions can be taken to support the Duro workers.

With this ruling, the new Fox administration has shed its populist mask and revealed the true face of direct corporate rule. Despite his statement last Friday in Davos, Switzerland that, "Today I am telling the whole world that Mexico is a great nation and that its power is in the soul of its people who know how to struggle in the fervent desire to achieve a life with dignity for all", and despite his promises during his campaign for the Mexican presidency to respect Freedom of Association, Fox is doing nothing to ensure that this fundamental right is respected.

In fact, Fox has appointed the former head of COPARMEX (the coalition of industrial employers), Carlos Abascal, to head the Department of Labor and Social Welfare, and it's a COPARMEX lawyer who has taken over representation of Duro at the FCAB.

Meanwhile, last Friday night, as Duro Bag workers waited for a decision on the scheduling of the union representation election from the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (FCAB), management fired 20 workers for allegedly communicating information to their union and for organizing. This culminated a week of captive audience meetings in which Duro allowed the Secretary General of the National Paperworkers Union of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) (the =93official=94 union that had made a series of sweetheart contracts with Duro and which the independent union is trying to replace), to shut down assembly line-by-line and take the workers to the cafeteria to tell them not to vote for the Duro Workers Union because it was a foreign union which wanted to take the work back to the U.S. and close the plant. Then, at a meeting with the second shift on Friday, he asked who would vote for the "outside" union. When all hands shot up, he said, "This is not a threat but Alejandro de la Rosa (the head of Human Resources) is over there taking notes, and he'll fire anyone who does."

After that, they fired twenty workers.

Actions Requested:
On Wednesday morning, January 31, please send an e-mail to Becerra, President of the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board and Charles Shor, CEO, Duro Bag Manufacturing Company. (See Sample Letter below, and please cc the MSN as well.)

Email President Vicente Fox from his web page either by going to: <http//www.vicentefox.org.mx/> then select Tablero de Mensajes; or by going directly to:
http//www.melodysoft.com/cgi-bin/gbook.cgi?ID=3Dfox2000&do=3Dsign

Carlos Abascal's e-mail is: cabascal@stps.gob.mx Virgilio Mena Becerra=92s e-mail is: mena@stps.gob.mx Charles Shor=92s e-mail is: cshor@durobag.com and/or info@durobag.com

Please let us know if you e-mail doesn't go through. Address changes are being made arbitrarily.

Vicente Fox,
Presidente
Republica de M=E9xico

Re: Freedom of Association for Duro Workers

Estimado President Fox:

During your election campaign you pledged to respect the Twenty Principles of Freedom of Association, and in your speech last week at Davos you talked about a "life with dignity for all." As well, during your August 2000 visit to Canada, you pledged to ensure that freedom of association is respected in the northern maquila region, and promised to investigate alleged violations of maquila workers=92 rights in the state of Tamaulipas, including the case of Duro workers in Rio Bravo.

Rather than facilitating the right of Duro workers to form and join unions of their choice, the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (FCAB) in Mexico City appears to be continuing the practices of the previous government in placing bureaucratic obstacles in the way of Duro workers who are attempting to exercise this fundamental democratic right.

Instead of setting a date for a union representation election in the case of Duro Bag Manufacturing, the FCAB in Mexico City has ruled that the leaders of the Duro workers=92 independent union must come to a yet another hearing on January 31 to determine if their union even has standing to be on the ballot. This ruling unjustly favours the =93official=94 union allied with the outgoing government, which reportedly has no support among the workers in the Duro plant.

According to the workers' lawyer, the FCAB is violating its own procedures in order to stall the election. In doing so, the FCAB is denying Duro workers their legal right to a union election or recuento for which they have been waiting for over four months.

In addition, on Friday, Duro fired twenty workers for supporting the independent union, a flagrant violation of Mexican law. We ask you, how long will the Duro workers have to wait for you to fulfill your promises?

We respectfully request that you instruct the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board to act, without further delay, in scheduling the recuento, to conduct a fair and democratic election in a neutral location with secret ballot and independent monitors, and to order Duro to immediately reinstate the fired workers.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. I look forward to receiving a report on the steps your government is taking to ensure that these workers=92 right to freedom of association is respected.

Respectfully,

c.c.
Carlos Abascal, Secretary, Labour and Social Welfare Virgilio Mena Becerra, President, Federal Concilidation and Arbitration Board
Charles Shor, CEO Duro Bag Manufacturing

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