|
“We will not
resign and we will not give up”
“We did not provoke this economic crisis and we are not
willing to pay for it because our work made TRW’s profits possible”
TRW workers in Reynosa,
Mexico
need your support
- Here is what you can do:
- Write, email or call TRW
headquarters supporting workers’ demands
- Tell President Barack Obama that the TRW case is one more example
of the failure of NAFTA to respect basic human rights
- Join a demonstration at TRW Automotive
headquarters (visit CJM's website for dates)
- Join a day of action supporting TRW
workers in
Reynosa
(visit CJM's website for dates)
- Sponsor a TRW maquila
worker’s travel to
Livonia
-
donate your free miles
- Support the TRW and other maquila workers’ struggles with a donation to CJM
***
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.
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.
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. We did not provoke the economic crisis and we
are not willing to pay for it. Instead, it was because of our work that TRW
enjoyed a healthy profit margin for many years. Now TRW must be accountable
to us!
Most of the workers have 15 to 20 years seniority.
They are fighting back against the company, the CTM corporate union, and
the government.
The TRW Workers are calling for your support.
! PLEASE RESPOND TO THEIR CALL!
Please send the
sample letters below:
John C. Plant, President and Chief Executive Officer
TRW Automotive
John.plant@trw.com
Steve Lunn, Executive Vice Pres.
and Chief Operating Officer- TRW Automotive
Steve.Lunn@trw.com
Neil E. Marchuk
Executive Vice President Human Resources
Neil.Marchuk@trw.com
For European and
Asia
inquiries:
Lynette Jackson
Acting Communication Director
44 121 506 5315
Lynette.Jackson@trw.com
For
America
inquiries:
John Wilkerson
Senior Communication Manager
Phone: 734 855 3864
John.Wilkerson@trw.com
12025 Tech
Center Drive
Livonia
,
Michigan
48150
United States
Phone/Tel: +1.734.855.2600
Dear Mr. Plant,
We are writing to you because we
are concerned about TRW Vehicle System’s behavior in
Reynosa
,
Mexico
. We understand that TRW
is transferring 800 workers from the Industrial Park del Norte to the
Industrial Park Reynosa, which is across town.
This means that the workers would spend two more hours getting to their
jobs. Transportation is not being provided, there is no daycare nearby for
their children, workplace conditions are not safe, and because of the size
of the facility, the 800 workers would potentially face layoffs or displace
workers already working at the TRW Reynosa plant.
The TRW workers in
Reynosa
formed the TRW Workers’ Coalition and tried to negotiate with TRW
management. The result was that TRW unjustifiably fired the leadership of
the TRW Workers’ Coalition and blacklisted the Coalition members. For this
reason, the Workers’ Coalition presented more than 300 complaints including
the demand for back pay, against TRW.
We urge you to respond to the
following workers’ demands: 1) that TRW follow the process established in
Mexican labor law for transferring workers; 2) that TRW provide them a) an
adequate space to work, because there is not adequate room in the TRW Reynosa Industrial park plant; b) that working
conditions be safe; c) that transportation be provided; d) that child care
be provided; and 6) that a transfer bonus be awarded to the workers.
The workers are simply asking to
be fairly compensated for the transfer and to have the same rights and
conditions in the new facility as in the former one. If TRW does not
respect workers’ rights, including the right to freedom of association,
then TRW must provide a severance payment to the workers to comply with
Mexican Labor Law. TRW should not be allowed to act with
impunity and abandon the workers without paying them severance.
We urge you to intervene
immediately and demand that TRW in Reynosa, Mexico should be accountable, respect workers’
rights, and negotiate the terms of the transfer with the TRW Workers’
Coalition, or pay them severance and back pay.
Sincerely,
Name
Organization
Country
-------------
Sample letter to
President: Barack Obama
President Barack Obama
president@messages.whitehouse.gov
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
Dear Mr. President,
We are writing to call your
attention to a serious case of labor violations at a Mexican factory
operated by the U.S.-based company TRW Automotive. Unfortunately, this is
only one of many cases that the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras (CJM) has documented since NAFTA’s implementation in 1994. CJM is dedicated to
supporting workers and their families as they struggle for respect for
basic human rights - a living wage, safe working conditions, job security and
the right to organize.
TRW Automotive employs 61,000
workers in 200 facilities in 26 countries; its headquarters is located in Livonia, Michigan, IN, United States. In
Mexico
,
TRW Automotive has 10 facilities, three of which are located in
Reynosa
, across the border
from
McAllen
,
Texas
. The workers from the TRW Industrial
Park Del Norte in
Reynosa
,
Mexico
,
produce seatbelts and other automotive safety equipment for GM, Chrysler
and Ford.
The workers in
Reynosa
began organizing in March 2009
after TRW Vehicle Systems gave notice that the workers would be transferred
to the TRW plant located in the
Reynosa
Industrial
Park
on the other side of town. For the
workers, this meant two extra hours commute to work, as well as higher
transportation costs. Poverty wages at the plant of $60 to $65 for a
48-hour week do not cover basic living expenses. Moreover, workers who drop
their children at daycare would be hours away from them, should there be an
accident or illness. In addition, the 800 workers would potentially
face layoffs or displace workers already working at the TRW Reynosa plant, where there is not adequate room for the
extra workers.
The workers first questioned the Confederación de Trabajadores Mexicanos (CTM) union leader 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 it wants, since it
has the support of the Mexican government at the local, state and federal
levels.” Given the CTM union representative’s failure to
stand up for the workers’ interests, on April 10th, 600 TRW workers decided
to form the TRW Workers Coalition to defend their rights.
Since then, the company has
fired the leadership of the TRW Workers’ Coalition and refused to comply
with Mexican law, which requires that a transfer of workers be preceded by
a process of negotiation through the Conciliation and Arbitration Board.
We urge you, Mr. President, to
open an inquiry into practices at the TRW factory in
Reynosa
, and to investigate the six other
major cases of labor rights violations in Mexican factories operated by
U.S.
or international corporations with
U.S.
ties that CJM has documented: Sony, Custom Trim, Han Young, Duro, Lajat and Key Safety
Systems. These cases make clear the failure of NAFTA to respect workers'
rights, and argue for the need to put people and human rights first in all
U.S.
government policies, including those regulating trade.
We look forward to your reply
concerning the pattern of abuses of labor rights, as well as threats to
public health and the environment, food sovereignty and economic stability
that NAFTA represents for millions of people in
Mexico
,
Canada
and the
U.S.
We call on you to use your authority to guarantee respect for the human
rights of all people who are impacted by the unjust NAFTA regime, and
especially for those maquiladora workers who
produce goods for
U.S.
consumers under appalling conditions.
Respectfully,
Name
Organization
Country
|
