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June 6, 2005

Reynosa News

Labor Protests Break Out in Maquiladoras

A wildcat strike in one factory and a spreading protest in another erupted in the Tamaulipas border city of Reynosa. In the first instance, hundreds of workers at a plant belonging to the Japanese-owned corporation Fu Jitsu called a work stoppage on Friday, June 3, to protest company and union policies. Hanging black and red strike banners outside the plant’s gates, the workers objected to withholdings from their paychecks which ranged between $35 to $110.00 dollars.

“What’s happening is that it appears the company had to pay a fine to the government because they made late payments,” said one unidentified worker. “And when we went to pick up our checks we found these deductions to our salaries.”

The workers also demanded that their union be replaced in favor of another one, because the current outfit is allegedly not representing their interests. In a second outbreak of discontent, workers for the U.S.-owned manufacturing company Black and Decker announced a mass meeting to decide the next course of action against the current union leadership at their plant. In Mexico, workers at foreign-owned assembly plants known as maquiladoras frequently complain about being left in the dark of the affairs of their union-when one exists. Sometimes called “charro” unions, they are criticized for being too cozy to management at the expense of labor.

There was no immediate comment from company or union officials of the affected plants.

Sources: Prensa de Reynosa, June 4, 2005.
Articles by Aldo Hernandez and Luis Alberto Tirana F.

Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico

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