TRW Workers Make History!

Mexican Labor Authorities Recognize the TRW Workers’ Coalition

A Historic Precedent!

Your letters and solidarity are making a difference!

Please continue supporting TRW workers by demanding accountability from TRW headquarters

March 10, 2010

• 
  
  Labor authorities responded to demands of TRW Workers in Reynosa, Mexico, by threatening TRW management with a fine if they fail to appear at hearing
• 
  
  TRW management showed up at the Labor Department hoping to negotiate with the Workers Coalition but without success
• 
  
  The Mexican government responded to CJM members’ letters that exposed the lack of enforcement of labor law and the complicity of labor authorities.

 Actions:

• 
  
  Send letters to TRW headquarters supporting workers and tell them that workers are not alone (See sample below)
• 
  
  Send letters to president Obama telling him that NAFTA failed to meet promised expectations (See sample below)
• 
  
  Send a tax -deductible contribution to the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, 3611 Golden Tee Ln,. Missouri City, TX 77459

After TRW workers demonstrated in the capital of Tamaulipas state at the end of January, 2010, CJM members sent letters to President Calderón calling his attention to the TRW case and the failure of NAFTA. Please see background in coalitionforjustice.net

The Mexican government replied to TRW workers and CJM members’ letters stating that labor authorities would provide advice to the TRW workers regarding their labor dispute. However, CJM members responded arguing that none of the three levels of government in Mexico have responded to the workers’ demands. They continue to renege on their legal obligation to resolve labor disputes by referring workers to the CTM union, when the evidence clearly shows that the CTM is a ghost union that replaces labor law enforcement with corporate complicity.
Please see the following links:

1. Government Responding

2. Ghost Union Replacing Labor Law 2.

Meanwhile, the TRW workers demonstrated in front of the labor department office on February 3 and 5, pressuring the Attorney General of the Labor Department to enforce the law.

As a result of these actions, on February 10, the Attorney General of the Labor Department called the TRW workers and gave them a legal document from the Labor Attorney General’s Office dated on February 3rd, and on government letterhead that recognizes the TRW Workers’ Coalition as the workers’ representative and calls the TRW local management in Reynosa to appear at a hearing. The notice also states that the labor office will impose a fine if TRW management fails to show up at the hearing. This is a historic precedent in workers’ struggles for the right to collective bargaining.
Please see the link to the document:

Setting a precedent

The same day, the workers went to the company and delivered personally to Lourdes Lozano, the TRW Human Resources lawyer, the notice for the hearing, which she signed. While they were there, the workers noticed that the facility, which supposedly was closed and where they used to work, was actually operating with 50 workers.

On February 12, the TRW management lawyer showed up at the hearing and negotiated directly with the TRW Workers Coalition, setting another precedent. Unfortunately, the negotiation was unsuccessful because the TRW lawyer maintained the same position the company has taken for the past ten months: to relocate the workers to a warehouse on the opposite side of the city, with lower salaries and worse conditions. The workers rejected his offer.

Your international solidarity made the labor authorities accountable to the workers’demands.

Now it’s crucial that you continue sending letters to TRW headquarters demanding that TRW be accountable to the workers and to President Obama calling attention to NAFTA’s failure. (sample letters below)

Workers of TRW and around the world are shouldering the burdens of an economic crisis provoked by the irresponsibility of multinational corporations.

“If they made their profits with our labor over the years, now they should be accountable to us.”

Ernesto Lizcano, TRW Worker from Reynosa

@@@@@@@@@@@

Sample letter to TRW headquarters:

 John C. Plant, President and Chief Executive Officer TRW Automotive. Phone: 734.855.2600.

Email: John.plant@trw.com

Neil Marchuk Exec. VP for Human Resources. Phone: 734.855.3871 (office) 734.748.0676 (cell) 734.855.2473 (fax)
Email: Neil.Marchuk@trw.com

John Wilkerson, Senior Communication Manager. Phone: 734 855 3864.
Email: John.Wilkerson@trw.com



LETTER TO: Mr. John Plant, TRW CEO; Neil Marchuk, TRW Human Resources; John Wilkerson, TRW Senior Communication Manager,

SUBJECT: Urgent concern about TRW operations in Reynosa, Mexico


Dear Mr. Plant, Marchuk, Wilkerson,

We have received information that TRW insists on relocating hundreds of Mexican workers to a warehouse in Reynosa, Mexico. We understand that in order to comply with this demand, the workers would have to wait after their shift ends, from 1:45 a.m. until 5:00 a.m., because the last public transportation passes at 1:00 a.m. and the workers’ shift ends at 1:45 a.m.

We understand that TRW, a company that produces safety equipment, insists on exposing its workers, most of them young women, to unsafe conditions; forcing them to wait more than 3 hours in the early morning for transportation home. Moreover, labor conditions are worse and the salaries in the warehouse are lower than what workers were earning at another plant where some of them have worked for 20 years.

The workers are not willing to work for TRW under that circumstances and they have organized to defend their rights. The workers should be reinstated with back pay, safe working conditions and wages consistent with their seniority and living wage standards or TRW should pay them severance. In addition, TRW must respect the workers’ rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining and to respect their right to jobs by ensuring that workers are not blacklisted.

Respectfully,

YOUR NAME

=========================

Sample letter to president Obama

Barack Obama

President of the USA

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

info@messages.whitehouse.gov

Dear Mr. President,

The NAFTA trade agreement has failed to meet expectations of economic growth and development. Instead, NAFTA has increased unemployment, economic instability and insecurity, poverty and environmental injustice in the three countries of North America.

Multinational corporations such as TRW, which is a US corporation based in Livonia, Michigan, have profited from, exploiting cheap labor, thanks to free trade agreements. After many years of phenomenal profits, corporations are now laying off workers. In the case of TRW in Mexico, they are laying off workers - without the severance payments that the workers are owed by law.

Trade agreements are about much more than trade. Trade agreements must have mechanisms to address and resolve the social consequences they create.

We believe that, despite the economic crisis, now is the right time to renegotiate NAFTA and address immigration reforms.

The evidence of NAFTA's failure is everywhere - people are suffering the real consequences of unregulated and irresponsible free trade policies.

We call on you to investigate and regulate multinational corporations such as TRW, which is violating workers' rights and operating with impunity in Mexico.

We also urge you to uphold your commitment to address immigration reform and renegotiate the NAFTA trade agreement immediately.

Respectfully,

YOUR NAME 

@@@@@@@@@@@@ 

Background

On October 26, 2009, TRW workers intercepted the Governor of Tamaulipas at the Presidential Summit celebrated in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and gave him a letter with their demands.

Afterwards, the Workers Coalition leadership was invited by Lieutenant Governor Antonio Martínez Torres on November 18th, to meet in the capital of the state to follow up on the workers’ demands.

This meeting set a precedent because it is the first time that the government recognized an autonomous leadership representing workers outside of the CTM union, which protects the company instead of the workers. In that meeting, Pedro Arguelles, Assistant to the Secretary of the Governor, promised the workers to mediate with the company and call TRW management to negotiate with the Workers Coalition.

TRW workers waited for the government mediation to occur as promised. However, the Conciliation and Arbitration Board (CAB-Labor Department) closed in December for the holidays and did not open until after January 6.

On January 10th, workers went to their hearing at the CAB and learned that their case was pending collection of other workers’ files, in response to a petition from the company.

The Workers Coalition believed that the Labor Department was unfairly delaying the case and that the state government was failing to hold TRW accountable. Therefore, they decided to go to the state capital to demonstrate in front of government offices and demand justice.

***

TRW Automotive is a global corporation with 200 facilities in 26 countries. The headquarters are located in Livonia, Michigan, in the United States. In Mexico, TRW Automotive has 10 facilities, three of which are located in Reynosa, a Tamaulipas town that borders McAllen, Texas. The workers from the TRW Industrial Park Del Norte in Reynosa, Mexico, produce the following: Seatbelts Systems consisting of retractors, pyrotechnic retractors and buckle assemblies, height adjusters, seat-integrated restraints; and Active Control Retractor (ACR) systems, for GM, Chrysler and Ford. The workers earn $60 to $65 for a 48-hour week. Overall, TRW has 61,000 employees located in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia-Pacific.

The workers in Reynosa have been organizing since the end of March 2009, after TRW Vehicle Systems gave notice that all workers would be transferred to the TRW plant located in the Reynosa Industrial Park on the other side of town. The workers were concerned because this meant they would have to travel farther and longer and incur higher transportation expenses in order to arrive on time at the TRW facility located across town. Not only would they spend two more hours getting to work, there would also be no daycare nearby for their children. In addition, 800 workers would potentially face layoffs or displace workers already working at the other TRW Reynosa plant. So they went to the CTM union leader and confronted him about whether the union had negotiated their transfer to the other company location. The CTM union leader, Reynaldo Garza, told them there was no choice, because “The Company can do whatever they want, since they have the support of the Mexican government at the local, state and federal levels.” Since the CTM union evidently had an agreement with the company, on April 10th, 600 TRW workers decided to form the TRW Workers Coalition to defend their rights.

NAFTA Free Trade: Neoliberal policies have imposed free trade and deregulation on underdeveloped countries as the keys for development. The NAFTA free trade agreement promised more jobs, better wages and improved working conditions for everyone. But the reality is that under the NAFTA regime Mexican workers have been exploited, underpaid, forced to work overtime, and often face unsafe conditions on the job and in neighborhoods contaminated by toxic factory emissions. As result of neoliberal policies, wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few, increasing poverty and misery globally and leading the world into a financial, economic, food and environmental crisis.

Neoliberal policies and free trade provoked a severe economic collapse. Now, massive layoffs are taking place all over the world. Almost half a million workers are unemployed in the US , the labor force is pressured to accept low wages, and the rate of unemployment is the highest since the last economic depression in the US . US auto workers were blackmailed by corporate managers who lowered salaries, eliminated benefits and bought out workers. Labor’s history of winning rights and building economic stability in the US has been erased, replaced by unemployment and uncertainty.

The auto industry crisis in the US impacts the manufacturing chain’s suppliers, and now workers along the border of Mexico also are facing massive layoffs, while corporations and suppliers act with impunity when they fail to comply with Mexican labor law, including failing to guarantee severance payments.

NAFTA’s failure can’t be prolonged or extended anymore.

Trade should be regulated and corporations should respect human and labor rights, protect the environment and respect food sovereignty wherever they operate. Corporations like TRW Automotive must be held accountable to their workers.

Workers’ demands: The TRW Workers’ Coalition is demanding the following: We will accept the transfer to Reynosa industrial park if TRW provides a facility with sufficient room for the increased number of workers and safe conditions in the workplace, along with transportation, child care, and a transfer bonus. If TRW refuses to negotiate with the Workers ‘ Coalition’s transfer conditions, then TRW must guarantee severance payments according to Article 439 of the Mexican Labor Law, which states that companies must pay a month’s salary in addition to three months of severance payment and seniority. Most of the workers have 15 to 20 years seniority. They are fighting back against the company, the CTM corporate union, and the government.

"Tenemos hambre de justicia"

Protestan trabajadores ante la Procuraduría de la Defensa del Trabajo

Convocan autoridades a reunión a representantes de la empresa maquiladora TRW para el dia 8 de febrero a las 10:00 de la mañana

Rodolfo Sánchez Barrón/EnLíneaDIRECTA

3 de febrero, 2010

Reynosa, Tamaulipas.- Tras afirmar que en los Estados Unidos y Canada, la misma empresa TRW ya indemnizo a la gente que despidio, y en México les estan dando largas, y pese a que ya han realizado una serie de manifestaciones de protesta, tienen hambre de justicia, este miércoles decidieron elevar otra vez, su voz de inconformidad frente a las oficinas de la Procuraduría de la Defensa del Trabajo, y dijeron que obtuvieron respuesta al convocar a la clase patronal a reunión en esta misma dependencia para la proxima semana: el proximo 8 de febrero a las 10:00 de la mañana, con miras a establecer acuerdos sobre el pago de la indemnización.

Ernesto Lizcano, Jovita Mendo, Delfino Hernández y Guersida de la Cruz y un considerable número de compañeros, encabezaron la comisión de los más de 350 obreros que dicen fueron despedidos injustamente de parte de la empresa TRW de reynosa.

Al mostrar oficio, dijeron que ya las autoridades envian citatorio a los representantes de la empresa maquiladora TRW de Reynosa, para que acudan a entrevista, para definir la indemnización correspondiente.

Coincidieron en señalar los entrevistados que hace unos días recibieron mensaje del presidente Felipe Calderon, en donde les pedia que fueran a la Procuraduría Federal del Trabajo, pero ahí les dijeron que no estaba en sus manos esta respuesta.

Y, por eso, ahora decidieron acudir a la Procuraduría de la Defensa del Trabajo de Reynosa, con el propósito de pedir ayuda y obtuvieron una mejor disposición, al mandar citar a los representantes de la empresa maquiladora TRW de Reynosa.

HAY ALREDEDOR DE 350 DEMANDAS

Confirmaron que se han interpuesto alrededor de 350 demandas por despido injustificado de parte de la empresa maquiladora TRW ante la Junta de Conciliación y Arbitraje de la ciudad de Reynosa, en donde destaca el cambio de condiciones de trabajo y por despedir injustificadamente a los trabajadores miembros de la coalision de trabajadores.

Tambien dijeron que se han boliteneado lo que ellos llaman “listas negras” a otras empresas, para que los identifiquen como escandalosos y conflictivos.

HAY OBREROS QUE TENIAN ENTRE 15 Y 20 AÑOS

Como muestra de lealtad, explican los obreros inconformes que entre ellos hay quienes tienen una antiguedad laboral entre los 15 y 20 años de edad, contribuido con su mano de obra al desarrollo de esta empresa maquiladora, reafirmando que durnate todo ese tiempo jamas fueron considerados empleados problematicos para dicha empresa multinacional, ni para su gerencia, pero, al empezar los problemas y engañarnos, decidimos defender solamente los derechos de la constitucion, de la ley del trabajo y por eso, decidieron exigir solamente su indemnización.

TRW Workers Nov 12 2009

TRW Workers intercept the Border Cities’ Summit, deliver their demands directly to the Governor, and announce their solidarity with the Electrical Workers Union (SME)

Action

Write a letters to TRW’s executives supporting the workers
Write a letter to President Obama demanding NAFTA Free Trade be addressed

On November 12th the TRW Workers Coalition hijacked the Border Cities’ Summit, which was held in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The workers learned that the governor of Tamaulipas, Eugenio Hernandez, would be attending the event, so they arrived early at the Holiday Inn Hotel, before security guards cordoned off the area.

The mayors of Tamaulipas’ cities were surprised by the courage of the workers, who stood up to the police and security guards and approached the Governor of Tamaulipas. The Governor’s Secretary told them to put down their signs and wait for the Governor to come to them; but the workers went directly to the podium and asked the Governor to hear what the TRW Workers Coalition had to say.

Please see the following link:

http://www.despertardetamaulipas.com/nota.php?art_ID=50177

The TRW Workers Coalition gave the Governor a letter asserting that they are not troublemakers; instead, they are workers some of whom have 20 years seniority at TRW. But now, the TRW corporation is violating their right to jobs, to freedom of association and to collective bargaining by relocating them to a warehouse without adequate security and transportation and by refusing to recognize the workers’ coalition and deal with them.

Please see the following link:

http://www.enlineadirecta.info/nota.php?art_ID=110984&titulo=Le_piden_a_“Ge_o”_ser_reinstalados_en_TRW.html


The workers demanded that TRW negotiate the relocation directly with them or pay them severance including back pay, in keeping with Mexican labor law. They recommended to the Governor that corporations be required to provide a deposit to local government to begin operations in a city, in order to guarantee that corporations not behave with impunity, without accountability to workers and without paying what the law requires. The workers demanded that the Governor investigate TRW’s practice of blacklisting the workers who formed the TRW Workers’ Coalition.

Please see the following link:

Agüita protesta Cumbre Fronteriza

The letter ended by stating that TRW and the CTM union have informed the workers that TRW’s actions have the support of the three levels of government. The letter asks, if that is true, then the government is failing in its obligation to defend the rights of the people. The workers asked the Governor to intervene in order to reach a prompt and fair solution to the conflict.

The Governor told the workers that he will study their letter and respond. During this exchange, the Mayor of Reynosa appeared to be very angry at the failure of the security guards to block the workers’ access to the Governor.

Three TRW workers, Delfino, Antonio and Leonardo, accompanied the Governor to his bus. The exchange was covered widely by the media.

Earlier, on November 11th, workers from the TRW Workers Coali tion took over the Labor Board again, demanding that its President set a date for the evidentiary hearing in the case. The date was set for December 7th. TRW Workers also made a statement to the media that they would join the call by the Electrical Workers’ Union (SME) to turn off the lights in their homes for two hours, in a show of solidarity with the SME struggle.

Please see the following link:

http://www.hoytamaulipas.net/index.php?v1=notas&v2=77289

http://www.noticiasdetamaulipas.com/nota.php?art_ID=49151

http://www.prensaescrita.com/diarios.php?codigo=MEX&pagina=http://www.elcinco.net

Action

1. Please write a letter to TRW’s CEO in Michigan headquarters, demanding that TRW be accountable to the workers and negotiate directly with the Workers Coalition instead of the charro corporate CTM union

2. Please keep sending messages to President Obama demanding that NAFTA be renegotiated

3. Send a tax-deductible contribution to the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras: Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, 3611 Golden Tee LN, Missouri City, TX 77459

SAMPLE TRW headquarters message to send to:

John C. Plant, President and Chief Executive Officer TRW Automotive. Phone: 734.855.2600. Email: John.plant@trw.com

Neil Marchuk Exec. VP for Human Resources. Phone: 734.855.3871 (office) 734.748.0676 (cell) 734.855.2473 (fax) Email: Neil.Marchuk@trw.com

John Wilkerson, Senior Communication Manager. Phone: 734 855 3864. Email: John.Wilkerson@trw.com

Please send copy of your letters to CJM at: cjm_martha@igc.org, cjm_cynthia@igc.org


Subj: Continued concern about TRW operations in Reynosa, Mexico
To: "John.plant@trw.com" , "Neil.Marchuk@trw.com" , "John.Wilkerson@trw.com"


John C. Plant, President and Chief Executive Officer TRW

Dear Mr. Plant:

I am writing to express my continued concern about TRW’s operations in Reynosa, Mexico. I learned that yesterday the workers met the Governor of Tamaulipas and asked him to investigate TRW’s actions in Reynosa. I am sure that you understand by now that the CTM “official” union does not adequately represent the workers and has repeatedly failed to stand up for their rights.

No corporation wants to be known as an entity that condones violations of labor rights and labor law. It is in TRW's interests to respect workers’ rights to safe jobs, freedom of association and collective bargaining. I urge you to take action now to guarantee that TRW reinstate workers who were fired unjustifiably from their jobs at the TRW Del Norte Industrial Park plant and respect all severance and seniority payments as required by Mexican labor law.

I call on you to guarantee respect for workers rights and to take immediate action to address these concerns about TRW operations at the Reynosa plant. I request that you keep me informed of the steps you are taking to address this extremely serious situation.


Respectfully,


SAMPLE MESSAGE to President Obama: Phone: 202-456-111, 202-456-1414, Fax 202 456-2461

E-mail: info@messages.whitehouse.gov.

Please send copy of your letters to CJM at: cjm_martha@igc.org, cjm_cynthia@igc.org

To: info@messages.whitehouse.gov
Subject: NAFTA fails to protect workers’ rights

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,

The NAFTA trade agreement has failed to meet the expectations of economic growth and development. Instead, NAFTA has increased unemployment, economic instability and insecurity, poverty and environmental injustice in the three countries of North America.

Multinational corporations such as TRW, a US corporation based in Livonia, Michigan, have profited by exploiting cheap labor, thanks to free trade agreements. After many years of phenomenal earnings, corporations are now laying off workers. In the case of TRW in Mexico, they are laying off workers without the severance payments that the workers are owed by law.

Trade agreements are about much more than trade. Trade agreements must have mechanisms to address and resolve the social consequences they create.

Despite the economic crisis, now is the right time to renegotiate NAFTA and address the need for immigration reform, which is inextricably linked to NAFTA.

The evidence of NAFTA's failure is everywhere - people are suffering the real consequences of unregulated and irresponsible free trade policies.

I call on you to investigate and regulate multinational corporations such as TRW, which is violating workers' rights and operating with impunity in Mexico.

I also urge you to uphold your commitment to address immigration reform and renegotiate the NAFTA trade agreement immediately.

Respectfully

community campaigns.blogspot.com

Entrevista sobre la lucha en TRW

Entrevista Con Ernesto Lizcano e Israel Monroy
Coalicion Pro Justicia en las Maquiladoras
San Diego, CA, 12 de octubre, 2009

Preguntas por: Justin Akers Chacón

Entrevista Conducida por: Arny Brenes y C. Gabriela Gonzalez

¿Nos pueden decir un poco acerca del TRW en Reynosa, Tamaulipas?

Ernesto: El TRW es una compañía internacional que a lo largo del mundo tiene presencia en 28 países y en México, en la ciudad de Reynosa tiene instaladas tres maquiladoras. Su personal es de 62,000 personas aproximadamente a nivel mundial, y bueno ahora nosotros estamos en una lucha contra esta compañía que se dedica a la manufactura de cinturones de seguridad para las principales marcas automotrices como GM, Ford y Chrysler.

¿Qué es lo que le sucedió a los trabajadores en esa compañía?

Ernesto: Nosotros durante muchos años hemos sido objeto de violaciones a los derechos laborales en México por parte de estas compañías que se asientan a lo largo y ancho de la frontera. Ahora nosotros formamos una coalición de trabajadores en vista de que la compañía quería enviarnos de una maquiladora a otra sin ningún tipo de arreglo, si no en una forma unilateral por parte de la compañía, estaban decidiendo eso y no tomaron en cuenta a nosotros los trabajadores, es así como entonces formamos la coalición para demandar a la empresa. Si queremos el trabajo siempre hemos querido tener el trabajo pero bajo a ciertas condiciones que no sean en prejuicio de los trabajadores. La compañía, en respuesta a que nosotros nos organizamos, nos saca de la empresa, nos saca a la calle y además nos envía a las listas negras, las cuales son anticonstitucionales en México. Pero como estas compañías tienen todo el poder y todo el dinero es lo que hacen siempre y bajo la protección del gobierno todo el tiempo.

¿Cómo respondió la comunidad en Reynosa?

Ernesto: La comunidad decimos que somos nosotros mismos, porque iniciamos el movimiento adentro de la fábrica pero nosotros también somos los que vivimos en las comunidades, entonces el movimiento detona adentro pero también es un movimiento en la comunidad. Ahora nosotros vemos que la única manera de luchar contra la corrupción de la empresa y del gobierno es haciendo publica la situación entonces nosotros nos tenemos que movilizar, salir a las calles y protestar frente a los edificios de los que profesan la ley en México para que se haga escuchar nuestra voz.

A veces la comunidad no esta tan dispuesta a participar en un movimiento cuando alguien quiere cambiar algo, como fue que realmente la gente empezó a reaccionar…

Ernesto: Yo creo que un detonante importante en el caso de TRW ah sido el hambre. Cuando las personas están desesperadas porque la compañía te está recortando la mitad del salario, de por sí ya un salario raquítico, las personas están desesperadas porque no tienen dinero que llevar a sus casas. Entonces es así que esto fue un detonante para que la gente empezara a organizarse. Y es difícil porque tenemos que romper con estos pensamientos que durante muchos años este sistema ha implementado. En la maquiladora siempre has estado acostumbrado desde un principio está establecido el sistema de manera que tu no platiques, no hables, no te comuniques, no pienses. Simplemente tienes un supervisor atrás de ti que te está diciendo piezas, piezas, piezas y es difícil romper con eso ya que han sido muchos anos que la gente ah estado inmersa en esto. Las personas se desesperan cuando no tienen que comer, sus familias tienen hambre. Es así que hemos podido organizar el movimiento. Hay unos que no creen, pero hay otros que dicen que sí, que podemos luchar, y cambiar.

Arny: Yo creo que es un problema porque muchos tienen que comer, no todos suficiente pero, los que tienen que comer, tienen sus casas, etc. Pero lo que no se sabe es que hay un costo invisible…

Israel: Ese costo invisible nosotros lo visualizamos. Por ejemplo, en el despojo. Las corporaciones llegaron a nuestras tierras campesinas instalándose y cambiando toda la relación campesina. El gobierno mexicano cambio las leyes para que llegaran. Cuando decimos que nos reprimen es una constante del movimiento obrero, movimiento de la maquila. Tú haces una lucha y eres reprimido por las diferentes estancias del gobierno, eres reprimido por el sindicato porque te manda a las listas negras y todo está al servicio de las corporaciones. Cuando decimos que nos explotan es como por ejemplo, nosotros realizamos el mapeo de producción como instrumento de organización. El mapeo consiste de llevar la cuenta de cuantas piezas haces diario y a la semana, y cuanto costo vale cada pieza. Nos dimos cuenta que nueve compañeros que nos pasaron sus datos del mapeo de producción en el 2008 en Key Safety System, ello hacían 352 bolsas de aire diario, las que ustedes conocen que cuando chocas y explotan, se inflan. Estas bolsas valían 700 dólares en el 2003. Si se multiplica 352 diarias por $700 te da alrededor de 244,000 dólares diarios que producían nueve compañeros. A la semana es alrededor de medio millón de dólares, al mes son millones de dólares que generaban solo nueve compañeros nada más. Y es por eso que estas corporaciones y estas maquilas llegan a concentrar mil millones de ganancias o más. Por ejemplo, la NIKE es conocido que tiene mas dinero que los países Africanos. Eses es el problema, y ese es el modelo de explotación donde los gobiernos, los sindicatos, la policía, el ejercito están defendiendo los intereses de las corporaciones. Cuando nosotros decimos desprecio es por la manera que estas corporaciones ven a nuestros pueblos, para ellas todos son ganancias y cifras. Ellas están despreciando a las comunidades indias, a la clase obrera en general, a nuestras familias y están despreciando a la humanidad. Por eso nosotros decimos que el futuro de la lucha obrera debe aprender a aplicar nuevas formas de organización. En nuestro caso, nosotros como trabajadores de la maquila hemos luchado por sindicatos, por coaliciones, hemos roto esquemas de corrupción en las juntas laborales, hemos puesto a temblar a gobiernos y emos podido

¿Cómo respondió el gobierno ante su movilización?

Durante mucho tiempo el gobierno siempre está diciendo que no es cierto que las compañías no manejan al gobierno, que no tienen el poder incluso han dicho que no les incumbe a ellos el problema, que no es un problema municipal, que es un problema sindical. Pero para nosotros no es un problema sindical, es un problema con la compañía. Porque esta siempre ha estado violando los derechos, violando la constitución política mexicana, la ley federal del trabajo entonces nosotros decimos que es un problema de todos.

¿Qué tal la maquiladora?

El gobierno cito a la empresa, la Procaduria Federal del Trabajo citó a la empresa en dos ocasiones para sentarse a negociar con la coalición de trabajadores. Pero la empresa hizo caso omiso, nunca se presentó. Y el gobierno nunca sanciono a la empresa ahora tenemos una demanda en contra de la compañía. Y está en proceso, un proceso legal pero nosotros estamos demandando la reinstalación inmediata de todos nosotros. Porque Nosotros consideramos que el trabajo es necesario, que queremos trabajar, no nos estamos oponiendo a trabajar porque muchas veces la compañía ha manejado estos discursos en los medios de comunicación, que somos gente problemática, oportunista, pero eso no es verdad porque yo tengo 10 años trabajando y hay compañeros que tienen 15 o 20 años. Entonces nosotros preguntamos ¿cómo es que vamos a ser problemáticos si tenemos tanto tiempo trabajando en la empresa? Pero ahora que estamos defendiendo nuestros derechos, ahora dicen que somos problemáticos.

¿Qué organizaciones han apoyan su lucha?

La organización que actualmente nos está apoyando es la CJM, Coalición por Justicia en las Maquiladoras, la cual tiene presencia a nivel internacional y ahora es gracias a ellos que yo puedo venir a Estados unidos y hacer esta gira en diferentes ciudades de Estados Unidos, platicando con las personas, con miembros de sindicatos, universidades, organizaciones religiosas para platicar de nuestra situación, de los trabajadores del TRW y llamar a la solidaridad internacional. Porque sabemos que es una lucha y que si la dejamos en nuestra ciudad no va pasar nada, es necesario que empecemos a hacer internacional nuestros movimientos.

Ustedes dijeron que ha habido un incremento de movimientos populares en México. ¿Cómo cabe su lucha en este contexto?

Israel: Cuando nosotros decimos que el movimiento popular ha crecido es porque muchos sectores en México ahorita se encuentran en las calles. Por ejemplo cuando el movimiento Zapatista surgió a la luz en 1994, conjuntamente en Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, también las trabajadoras de Sony alzaban su voz por un sindicalismo independiente y denunciando a NAFTA. Esto es un ejemplo de cómo desde la misma firma del norte a sur los movimientos están y han crecido a lo más de quince años. En el 2006 fue el movimiento de la APPO en el estado de Oaxaca. Un movimiento que tiene que ver con las nuevas formas de organización que la sociedad oaxaqueña ha incrementado sin las filas de partidos sin el PRI, sin el PRD, sin el PAN, solamente con el coraje y la dignidad que tiene el pueblo, denunciando a un gobernador corrupto, y sobre todo denunciando también la política neo-liberal en México. En la frontera norte del país hemos podido documentar las luchas de Sony en 1994, la lucha de (Custom Tree) en 1997, la lucha de DURO en el 2000 en Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, la lucha, de los trabajadores de Lajat en Gomez Palacios, Durango en el 2003, la lucha de los trabajadores de Key Safety en el 2008 en Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas y actualmente la lucha de los compañeros de la TRW. Este es un ejemplo de cómo nosotros los trabajadores hemos mantenido la lucha, sin embargo el día de ayer el ejercito federal tomo las instalaciones tomo las instalaciones del sindicato Mexicano de electricistas, un sindicato pionero en la organización sindical en el centro del país. Sin embargo actualmente la movilización se encuentra muy fuerte de norte a sur en todo el país.

También han dicho que la solidaridad internacional es importante. ¿Por qué y que formas de solidaridad están buscando?

Israel: Nosotros desde nuestra visión reafirmamos que la política capitalista está sustentada en las corporaciones, para nosotros el brazo derecho del capitalismo son las corporaciones automotrices, corporaciones farmacéuticas, corporaciones de todo tipo. Estas corporaciones han llegado a concentrar, por ejemplo en la maquiladora Key Safety System, que es un cooperativo mundial en Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas genera mil millones de dólares de ganancias al ano y estas corporaciones tienen 10, 15, 20 años instaladas en nuestro país. Si nosotros multiplicamos cuanto generan al ano, vamos hacer de cuenta que este es el factor del capitalismo: la concentración de la riqueza en unas cuantas manos bajo, sin embargo pues estas corporaciones están en todo el mundo y actúan bajo una agenda donde no les importan los pueblos, no les importan los derechos, no les importan los trabajadores ni los derechos universales de los pueblos ni de las comunidades, ni de las mujeres trabajadoras, ni de los jóvenes trabajadores. Es por eso que nosotros reafirmamos que la agenda debe de ser internacional porque lo que está en juego para los próximos anos es el futuro de nuestros trabajos, también el desarrollo de nuestras comunidades. Hoy es obvio el fracaso del capitalismo, hoy es obvio el fracaso de las políticas neo-liberales con estos tratados de hambre, con esos tratados que tienen que ver con la agenda de las corporaciones. Y de donde todo mundo habla de firmar tratados en América, en Centro América, de hacer uniones Europeas en otras partes del mundo pero nadie habla de las ganancias que tienen estas corporaciones y de cómo están atentando con planes militares, como por ejemplo en este país con la Alianza de Seguridad y Prosperidad para América del Norte para llevar su agenda a aplicación y apropiarse de recursos naturales como los bosques, el agua y aplicar estas nuevas fases de aplicación del NAFTA que tienen que ver con el futuro de nuestros pueblos.

Han conectado su protesta a NAFTA y a la corrupción del gobierno de México. ¿Pueden explicar un poco más?

Israel: La lucha de nosotros en esta caminar empiezan desde la comunidad, desde los mismos municipios vamos tocando todas las puertas y vamos haciendo todo legalmente. Nosotros no violamos la ley pero en este camino los gobiernos municipales, los gobiernos estatales, el gobierno de México se pone al servicio de las corporaciones. Actualmente, por ejemplo, en México tenemos un presidente ilegitimo que no gano las elecciones pero es un presidente empresarial que ha aplicado esta fase neo-liberal donde ah extendido y llevado esa agenda, la aplicación del ASPAN, poniendo también 45,000 soldados en todo el país y defendiendo totalmente los intereses de las corporaciones en México. Lo cual ah acrecentado aun más la pobreza en nuestro país, compañeros investigadores han dicho que en este ano va crecer de 1 millón a 6 millones de pobres en México. Es por eso que nosotros reafirmamos que el modelo neo-liberal, el modelo de las corporaciones, el modelo capitalista, están dejando en la pobreza al pueblo Americano, al pueblo Canadiense al pueblo mexicano en esta experiencia del NAFTA, pero también se está dando en todo el mundo. Hoy más que nunca los inmigrantes están saliendo para luchar, el movimiento de las mujeres en África, el pueblo se está organizando en nuevas formas de organización que tiene que ver con la dignidad de nuestros pueblos y la resistencia contra el despojo, contra la explotación, contra la represión, y contra el desprecio que ejercen estas corporaciones hacia nuestras luchas y hacia nuestras vidas.

Hablan de un enlace entre el futuro de Reynosa con el de Detroit. ¿Pueden explicar?

Israel: Todos son planes neo-liberales, cuando se firmo el NAFTA se firmo con los tres países: Canadá, México y Estados Unidos. Sin embargo Tamaulipas es una de las principales zonas de llegada de estas corporaciones, nosotros decimos que Tamaulipas es centro estratégico del desarrollo del capital internacional, ¿Por qué? Porque Tamaulipas colinda con el estado de Texas, pero colinda también con el este de Estados Unidos donde se encuentra todo el desarrollo de este país, todo el desarrollo industrial, todo el desarrollo urbano, de ciudades y en esta zona este de Estados Unidos se compra todo lo producen estas corporaciones, pero colinda con la ciudad de Detroit del estado de Michigan, que es paso también, puente internacional para con el país de Canadá, donde de esta forma se concentra un corredor industrial de paso libre de mercancías que se conecta con la frontera Canadiense y con parte de la frontera Mexicana del estado de Tamaulipas. En estas fases de aplicación se pretendía en un momento extender estos tratados con el Plan Pueblo Panamá y con los tratados del CAFTA, los tratados de libre comercio que a formado Estados Unidos con países de Centro América, hasta llegar al área de libre comercio, sin embrago el área de libre comercio no fue aplicada por la movilización continental de nuestros pueblos que se llevo a cabo en el 2003, se pudo tumbar atrás la aplicación del ALCA. Sin embargo la estrategia de expansión de libre mercado está en la agenda de Estados Unidos, tanto que en la iniciativa del ASPAN el congreso Americano acaba de aprobar más recursos para la nueva fase de aplicación del NAFTA con relación con el ASPAN, que es la Alianza de Seguridad y Prosperidad para América del Norte.

¿Cuáles son los próximos pasos de su lucha?

Ernesto: Concretamente la coalición de trabajadores del TRW estamos llamando a la solidaridad internacional porque sabemos que nuestra lucha no puede quedar aislada entonces sabemos que la agenda debe de ser internacional, es por eso que estamos aquí en Estados Unidos llamando a las personas para que se unan a este movimiento. Nosotros estamos enviando alertas de la situación que está pasando, mensajes de lo que está sucediendo. Y de las acciones que son próximas a seguir en este caso, por ejemplo, hemos estado llamando a las personas aquí en Estados Unidos para que envíen una carta al Presidente Obama y en esta carta que está en las alertas que CJM envía a las personas pide que actué inmediatamente contra esta corporación TRW de cómo está violando los derechos de los trabajadores en México. Pero así mismo, también para que renegocie o como decimos los trabajadores para que quite y desaparezca el tratado de libre comercio porque solamente a traído pobreza, desigualdad y miseria para nuestros pueblos, para nosotros los trabajadores. En México, por ejemplo también estamos haciendo un llamado a personas para que envíen cartas al presidente de México y a los miembros que son responsables de la ley federal del trabajo, que son los responsables de que se cumplan estas leyes para que actúan inmediatamente en contra de TRW en México y accedan a resolver el problema con los trabajadores porque nosotros no estamos haciendo nada ilegal, mas sin embrago esta compañía si está haciendo todo ilegalmente y con el apoyo del gobierno, porque el gobierno a permitido todo esto.

¿Ven un nuevo potencial hacia un nuevo movimiento laboral-sindical en las maquilas?

Ernesto: Si, nosotros actualmente creemos que esto ya es una situación que se está dando en todo el país. Las corporaciones están cambiando sus modelos de producción de tal forma que ya no hay la misma cantidad de empleos. Entonces las personas hoy más que nunca en México están saliendo a manifestarse por la situación política, por el problema que hay de una crisis alimentaria, nuestros pueblos cada vez son más pobres. Yo creo que esto puede detonar un movimiento social, obrero muy importante.

Han conectado su lucha a una en contra del sistema internacional del capitalismo. ¿Qué los ah llevado a esta conclusión?

Israel: Nuestra experiencia ah sido que para el capitalismo, las corporaciones son el brazo derecho. Las corporaciones tienen planes militares, tienen planes de nuevas conquistas, como dice el compañero Ernesto, conquistas económicas hacia nuestros pueblos, a eso me refiero. Por ejemplo, las industrias automotrices están acomodando sus modelos de producción para seguir teniendo más ganancias. Están despidiendo masivamente a trabajadores americanos, pero también están despidiendo masivamente a los trabajadores del mundo que trabajan en estas empresas. Esos son los planes estratégicos que tienen estas corporaciones. Nosotros en nuestro caminar ese ah sido el aprendizaje que hemos construido atreves de los años. Es por eso que reafirmamos que la agenda debe de ser internacional. Porque lo mismo afecta estas políticas neoliberal a cualquier pueblo y hoy más que nunca el pueblo americano debe entender que el capitalismo nos está llevando a un futuro incierto de nuestros pueblos, pero también atenta contra a la humanidad.

TRW Struggle--An Interview

Interview with Ernesto Lizcano and Israel Monroy of CJM: Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras

Questions by: Justin Akers Chacón

Interview conducted by: Arny Brenes and C. Gabriela Gonzalez

TELL US about TRW Automotive in Reynosa.

Ernesto: TRW is an international company with facilities in 28 countries throughout the world. Three of its maquiladoras are in the city of Reynosa in Mexico. Worldwide, there are approximately 62,000 people employed by TRW, and we are currently in a struggle against this company that mostly makes seat belts for car brands such as GM, Ford and Chrysler.

For many years, we have been subject to violations of labor rights in Mexico by companies established along the border. Now we have formed a coalition of workers in response to the company wanting to send us from one maquiladora to another, without any type of agreement, but unilaterally, to benefit the company. They didn't take the employees into account, so we formed the coalition to sue the company.

We have always wanted to work, but under conditions that are not prejudiced against workers. In response to our organization, the company threw us out of the factory and into the streets, and blacklisted us, which is unconstitutional in Mexico. But since these corporations have all the power and the money, that is what they always do, and all under the protection of the government.

HOW DID the community of Reynosa respond?

Ernesto: We say that we are the community because we initiated the movement inside the factory, but also because we are the ones who live in the communities. The struggle, then, was sparked in the factory, but it is also a movement of the community.

We see that the only way to fight against the company and the government's corruption is by making our situation public. So we have to mobilize, go out to the streets and protest in front of the buildings of those who are in charge of executing the laws in Mexico, in order for our voices to be heard.

I believe that a really important factor in the case of TRW has been hunger. When people are desperate because the company is cutting your salary in half, a salary that it is already meager, the people become desperate because they don't have money to take home. So this is what sparked the beginning of people's organization.

It was hard because we have to break away from the ideas that the system has instilled in us for many years. In the maquiladora, a system was established from the start to inhibit you from talking, communicating or thinking. You simply have a supervisor behind you telling you "parts, parts, parts," and it's difficult to break from this since it has been too many years that people have been immersed in this.

The people are desperate when they don't have enough to eat, when their families are hungry. That is how we were able to organize the movement. There are some who don't believe, but there are others who do believe it's possible--that we can fight and make change.

Israel: The corporations came into our farmlands, installing themselves and altering all our farming relations. The Mexican government changes the law to make this possible. When we say we are suppressed, it is a constant of the labor movement, the maquila movement. You begin a struggle and right away are suppressed by the different levels of government and by the union, because you are put on blacklists and everything is at the corporations' service.

We say we are exploited because production mapping has shown us that. Production mapping consists of keeping count of the parts produced daily and weekly, as well as the cost of each part.

Nine fellow workers showed us their data of production mapping in 2008 at Key Safety System, where they produced 352 car airbags every day. These airbags cost $700 in 2003. If you multiply 352 daily airbags by $700, you get approximately $244,000 that only nine workers produced every day!

The corporations look down on our people with contempt; for them, everything is numbers and profits. They look down on indigenous communities, the working class in general, our families--they are looking down on humanity.

That's why we say that the future of the labor struggle depends on learning to apply new forms of organization.

HOW HAS the government responded to your mobilization?

Israel: For a long time, the government has said that it's not true the companies control them, that the problem is not their business, and it's a union, and not a municipal problem. However, this is a problem with the company, not the union, because the former has always been violating the people's rights, the Mexican political constitution and the federal labor laws. Which is why we say this problem is everyone's.

HOW HAVE the maquiladora owners responded?

Ernesto: The government agency in charge of labor regulations (the Procuraduría Federal de la Defensa del Trabajo) summoned the company to sit down and negotiate with workers. But the company never showed up. The government never sanctioned the company, and now we have filed a suit against it.

It is in the legal process, but we are demanding the immediate reinstatement of all of us. We want to work. However, the maquiladora has said many times that we are problem people and opportunists, which is not true.

I have worked in the company for 10 years, and there are others who have been there for 15 or 20 years. We ask how is it that we are problems if we have worked there for so long? But now that we are defending our rights, they say we are problematic.

WHAT ORGANIZATIONS have supported your struggle?

Ernesto: The organization that is currently supporting us is the CJM--the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, which has an international presence. Thanks to them, I am able to come to the U.S. to do this tour and talk with people, with union members, at universities, with religious organizations about our situation.

We are calling for international solidarity. We know that if we leave this struggle in our city, nothing is going to happen. It is necessary to make our movement international.

YOU SAID that there has been an increase in popular movements in Mexico. How does your struggle fit in this context?

Israel: When we say that the popular movement has grown, it is because many sectors of Mexico are currently in the streets. For example, when the Zapatista movement emerged in 1994 in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, the women workers at Sony also raised their voices for an independent union and to denounce NAFTA. This is an example of how movements have appeared from the North to the South within the last 15 years.

In 2006, it was the movement of APPO [Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca, or the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca] in the state of Oaxaca that came into view, beginning first with teachers. A struggle with new forms of organization developed without the direction of parties--without the PAN, PRI or PRD, only with the courage and dignity of the people denouncing a corrupt governor, and above all denouncing the neoliberal politics in Mexico.

On the border, we have documented the struggles of Sony workers in 1994; the fight of Duro workers in 2000 in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas; the movement of Lajat workers in Gómez Palacios, Durango, in 2003; the struggle of Key Safety Systems in 2008 in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas; and currently the one of TRW workers.

This is an example of how we have maintained the fight. However, the federal military has now taken over the Mexican electricians' union headquarters in the center of the country. Even so, currently, the mobilization is very strong from North to South.

YOU HAVE also said that international solidarity is really important. Explain why and what forms of solidarity are you seeking?

Israel: From our perspective, we reaffirm that capitalist politics are upheld by the corporations. These corporations have 10, 15, 20 years established in our country. If we multiplied how much they generate per year, we find the reality of capitalism: the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.

These corporations are found everywhere in the world and operate under an agenda that does not care about people. They don't care about rights, about workers or the universal rights of the people and communities.

What is in play for the following years is the future of our jobs, as well as the development of our communities. Today, the failure of capitalism is obvious. Today, the failure of neoliberal politics is obvious with these treaties that create hunger.

YOU HAVE connected your protest to NAFTA and the Mexican government's corruption. Could you explain why?

Israel: We do not violate the law, but the municipal government, the state government and the Mexican government puts themselves at the service of the corporations.

Currently, in Mexico, we have an illegitimate president who did not win elections. He is a business president who has applied the neoliberal phase and extended it, defending the corporations' interests in Mexico.

His presidency has increased poverty in our country. It is said that this year there will be an increase of between 1 million to 6 million new poor people in Mexico. That is why we reaffirm that the neoliberal model--the corporations' model, the capitalist model--is leaving the American people poor, as well as the Canadian and Mexican people.

Today, immigrants are going out to protest. There's the emergence of the women's movement in Africa. People are organizing in new ways that are linked to the dignity of our communities and the resistance against displacement, exploitation, repression and the contempt these corporations have toward our struggles and our lives.

WHAT ARE the next steps for your struggle?

Ernesto: Concretely, the TRW Workers Coalition is calling for international solidarity because we know that our struggle cannot stay isolated. The agenda should be international--that is why we are here in the U.S. urging people to unite in our movement.

The actions we are calling for right now include asking people here in the U.S. to write letters to President Obama, and call on the government to take immediate action against TRW since it is violating the rights of workers in Mexico. We also want to ask him to renegotiate--or like we, the workers, say, to demolish--the free trade agreement, because it has only brought poverty, inequality and misery for our people.

In Mexico, we are calling on people to send letters to the Mexican president and the members of the federal labor agency who are responsible of making sure the laws are respected to immediately take action against TRW and follow through with solving the problem with workers.

We are not doing anything illegal. But this company is doing everything illegally and with the government's support. The government has allowed this to happen.

DO YOU see the potential for a new labor/union movement in the maquilas?

Ernesto: Yes, we actually believe that this situation is happening all over the country. The corporations are changing their production models, and there aren't the same numbers of jobs as before. So people today are coming out and protesting the political situation, the problem of food crisis. Our people and towns are becoming poorer and poorer. I believe this can detonate a very important new social and labor movement.

Autoworkers protest NAFTA at Hidalgo-Reynosa bridge

Autoworkers protest NAFTA at Hidalgo-Reynosa bridge

Sean Gaffney

2009-10-05 22:50:43

http://www.themonitor.com/articles/hidalgo-31320-reynosa-autoworkers.html

HIDALGO — Autoworkers from Michigan shouted for an end to free trade Monday afternoon on the Mexican-American border, where relaxed trade restrictions have fostered rampant economic growth.

As the 18 or so members of the Local 174 of the United Auto Workers union from Romulus, Mich. waved signs at drivers approaching the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, maquiladora workers in Mexico gathered on a street corner to protest what they say is an unfair dismissal of workers.

At one point during the concurrent protests, two American autoworkers crossed the bridge to meet and support the maquiladora workers, in a gesture of conciliation that was odd because some of the lost jobs American autoworkers complained of have been sent across the river.

“We’ve been losing our jobs at such a rapid pace; this is a sign of desperation,” said local UAW president John Zimmick. “We would not be down here if President Bush was in office — we’d be wasting our time.”

With President Barack Obama in office and Congress under Democratic control, Zimmick said union workers believe their concerns about the decline of American manufacturing in favor of cheaper labor in foreign countries will actually be heard.

“This country needs to protect its workers,” he said.

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement relaxed trade regulations in 1994, the Rio Grande Valley’s economy has expanded rapidly. The Mexican maquiladora industry boomed and the growth infused the Valley with more money and a rush of migrants. The area even brushed aside a brief recession in 2001.

The growth in manufacturing along border came at the cost of thousands of jobs and factories across the U.S.

During the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama repeatedly mentioned the loss of 1,600 jobs in Galesburg, Ill., where a Maytag plant closed in 2004. Those jobs moved to Reynosa.

Recently, 57 employees at Kohler Co. plant in Searcy, Ark. were informed they would lose their jobs when the company shifts their production line to a Reynosa maquiladora.

Sandy Bruce, a quality technician with Lear Automotive, said that she’s watched jobs at her company flee to factories outside the country for more than a decade.

“We all need to stand up and fight,” she said. “Or there’s going to be nothing left for my family.”

As protesters weathered the South Texas sun at the apron to the international bridge on the U.S. side, about 20 former employees of TRW Automotive gathered on a street corner on the Mexican side in a mirror demonstration.

Gumercinda de la Cruz, wore the automotive supplier’s blue company shirt, as did many of the other former workers. She said that they were demonstrating because TRW unfairly dismissed workers who tried to negotiate better labor agreements.

Some of the workers had actually traveled to Detroit in September to meet with executives from TRW, which makes seat belts for U.S. car companies. The executives refused to meet.

De la Cruz said that TRW targeted higher-paid workers when they consolidated operations at its Reynosa plants. She alleged that those workers were not provided the severance pay required under Mexican law when they were fired.

She accused TRW of firing workers who helped organize the TRW Workers Coalition to negotiate better contracts. She alleged that TRW also blacklisted the workers, making it impossible for them to find new jobs at other area maquiladoras.

TRW could not be reached for comment after business hours.

Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.