Han Young campaign
The San Diego-based Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers and the Campaign for Labor Rights (based in Washington, DC) are renewing and intensifying a consumer pressure campaign focused on the Hyundai company.
The campaign started 12 months ago, and aims to bring about a just resolution of the labour conflict at a Mexican subcontractor plant, Han Young, in Tijuana.
"The crisis at Han Young exemplifies everything that is wrong with the North
American Free Trade Agreement," explains Mary Tong, executive director of the
Support Committee. "Refusal by Mexican authorities to enforce Mexico's own labour laws is causing citizens in Mexico, the USA and Canada to have serious second thoughts about proceeding any further down the road of free trade."
The renewed campaign against Hyundai will attempt for force the company and the
Mexican government to recognise the workers' independent union.
Workers at Han Young weld chassis later assembled into tractor trailers
("semi's") by Hyundai Precision America.
Both operations are in the Tijuana area although Hyundai Precision is headquartered in San Diego.
The Korean-based Hyundai Group has been experiencing severe financial stress due to the Asian currency crisis.
Campaigners believe Hyundai is ill-prepared to ride out a campaign which might adversely affect its exports from the US.
The central issue at Han Young is winning respect for the workers' right to join an independent union of their choosing and the union's right to bargain a contract owing fast one billion dollars in investment in July The maquiladoras generated $884m. in foreign exchange, a 20% increase over last year.
In July alone, the government approved 50 maquiladoras, and the expansion of 59 others, while only 12 were cancelled and five suspended temporarily. There are now more than 4,000 maquiladoras. The new plants will create about 23,000 new jobs.
Maquiladoras produce 44% of Mexico's foreign exports. Maquila sales abroad during the seven month period amounted to more than $4bn., a 3% increase over the same time last year.
US corporations remain the biggest investor in maquiladoras, followed by Mexicans. [MLNA] * with management. The workers formed the "October 6" union (named for the date of the first of their union certification elections), and a clear majority of eligible workers has voted three times to be represented by the independent union. Workers at other tactories in the lijuana area are reportedly eager to be represented by the new union.
Initial agreements broke down after Hyundai stood by while Han Young management proceeded to try to crush and/or circumvent the independent union. Many of these actions by Han Young management were in direct violation of Mexican labour law. In any case, Han Young could not have continued its course of action without the consent or possibly even the assistance of Hyundai (Han Young's only customer).
The renewed campaign is initially directing most of its pressure on Hyundai Motors dealerships.
On September 9, the Support Committee released an open letter to Hyundai, signed by representatives of 87 US religious organisations. "Because your company is in a position to insist on a just resolution to the current situation, " they wrote, "continued violation of the rights of the Han Young workers will only serve to damage Hyundai's reputation in the United States."
Another open letter to Hyundai - this one signed by 136 community-based organisations and individuals, said "we are committed to an intensive long-term campaign to ensure that the members of our organisations and the broader public are fully aware of Hyundai's role in the Han Young labour dispute and will respond with appropriate consumer decisions.
We strongly urge you to intervene decisively and swiftly to ensure that the Han Young workers are allowed to negotiate a fair contract in an environment free of intimidation and repression."
"Decent people everywhere are outraged at the treatment accorded the workers at Han Young," said Trim Bissell, national co-ordinator of Campaign for Labor Rights. "The Hyundai corporation is in for a rude awakening when it looks out the windows of its car dealerships to see picket signs and when it hears that its labour policies are being questioned in the halls of Congress." * Mexican Labor News and Analysis Vol.3 No.16, Contact editor Dan La Botz at 3436 Morrison Place, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA. Tel +1-513-961-8722. Email: <[email protected]> Or on the Web at www.igc.apc.org/unitedelect/. Campaign for Labor Rights maintains an e-mail alerts service on sweatshop issues. For further information, write CLR @igc.apc.org and specify whether you want to receive alerts on sweatshop issues in Mexico only or on all of the major sweatshop campaigns.
Réduction massive ans de trava