LABOR AND COMMUNITY LEADERS FROM U.S.
MAKE SOLIDARITY VISIT TO MEXICO

by Bill Lange

A group of eight labor and community leaders from the U.S. visited Mexico from March 6th to 14th to strengthen ties between workers and community groups in the U.S. with those in Mexico. The trip was arranged by the U.S.-based United Electrical Workers (UE) and the Authentic Labor Front (FAT), an independent Mexican labor federation.

The FAT is a national Mexican labor federation which is independent, democratic, and committed to defending the rights of workers, fighting for better living and working conditions, and striving for a transformation of Mexican society in the direction of democracy both political and economic. Founded in 1960, the FAT now represents workers in over half the states of Mexico. A women's network operates within all of the FAT sectors and as part of the leadership. FAT was a key founder and active participant in the Mexican Action Network Against Free Trade (RMALC). This is a coalition of more than one-hundred Mexican organizations which opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The visitors from the U.S. represented groups that have had continuing cooperation with the FAT. The U.S. delegation consisted of Jose Chavez, president of District 10 of the U.E. in California; Pat Hasenclever, secretary of Local 893 in the State of Iowa; Bill Lange, Religion and Labor Liaison for the State of Wisconsin, representing the Fair Trade campaign of the Milwaukee County Labor Council; Gary Gillespie, president AFSCME Local 1724, Eugene, Oregon, representing CISCAP; Urszula Masny Sokolowski, representative of Jobs with Justice from Boston, from the Mass. Chapter of the National Lawyers' Guild; Hector Arellano, president of the Building Trades Council in El Paso Texas; and Molly Wieser, representing the Escuela Popular, Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. coordinator was Robin Alexander, International Affairs Director of the UE based in Pittsbugh, Pa.; The Mexican coordinator was Benedicto Martinez of the FAT.

International Women's Day in Mexico City

Although our first day was to be a day of orientation, we were immediately confronted with major issues that had a strong emotional impact. Our delegation went to the Zocolo, the central plaza in Mexico City, where preparations were being made to celebrate March 8, International Women's Day. The plaza was packed with people. There was excitement in the air, a festive atmosphere that included a demonstration of ritual Aztec dancing. But the serious theme of women's rights was well presented in speeches, signs and at booths managed by various organizations. A major priority of the FAT is the struggle for women's rights.

We spent some time at the booth operated by women workers from CONASUPO, a government agency in charge of providing subsidies for small farmers and food at reduced prices for low income consumers. Mexican President Zedillo wants to eliminate this program since it does not fit in the scheme of unrestrained commerce or neo-liberalism mandated by transnational corporations. Not only will the CONASUPO workers lose their jobs, but small farmers will find it even more difficult to compete against agribusiness interests. Eventually the price of food will increase for low income people in a country already plagued by malnutrition and hunger.

Delegation Tours Plants and Cooperatives

The U.S. visitors toured two factories organized by the FAT in Mexico City and three in Puebla. It was extremely interesting to compare the plants, which ranged from small domestic industry to a major transnational (Otis). In all cases we were able to have discussions with workers and in a few cases with management. The advantage for workers to join the FAT is that the workers can be assured that they won't be "sold out." Union officials are elected and major decisions are the result of reaching a consensus by the workers. Members of the FAT have a voice in the work place and in union political strategies.

We also visited several types of cooperatives. The FAT is committed to the working class. Because of this commitment, it has involved itself in organizing workers in associations such as the credit union we visited in Mirador, and also producers' cooperatives. The day after we returned from Puebla, we visited a producers' cooperative associated with the FAT just outside of Mexico City. This cooperative is a good example of FAT's efforts to achieve structural change toward industrial democracy, where workers have a deciding voice in the administration of a business.

The purpose of a business according to the neo-liberal model is to generate profits for stockholders. The purpose of the FAT producers' cooperative is to provide work and a living for workers. To attempt such an enterprise in a global economy where the rules are dictated by the principles of the neo-liberal ideology seems impossible, but the FAT producers' cooperative near Mexico City, has been operating successfully for sixteen years. The worker owners look to the future with optimism.

The cooperative, called Union Provisa, makes plate glass. Union Provisa was formed when the owner declared bankruptcy. The plant and machinery were given to the workers in place of the pay and benefits owed them after a three year strike. The workers had the option of selling their holdings or running the plant. Since they and the community needed the jobs, they decided to run the plant.

The workers hired a successful businessman to work for them and to advise them. A council of administrators is elected by workers. Major decisions, such as moving the plant to another location are made by worker consensus. This process is called "autogestion" or self-management.

Breaking Bread in Solidarity

Breaking bread provided by the hosts helped establish comradery and solidify the alliance of cross-border organizing. In solidarity, the U.S. delegation had lunch with pickets on strike at a printing plant in Mexico City. The workers have been out on strike against the Morales Brothers Printing Plant since July 12, 1996. It is doubted that the shop will ever open again under the Morales's name, but there is hope that the workers will receive the back pay and severance pay they are due. It is also possible that the workers might take over the plant as a cooperative.

The U.S. visitors were hosted for lunch in Mirador, a small village in the hills outside of Puebla, by members of a savings and loan cooperative associated with FAT. The purpose of the cooperative is to provide low interest loans to small farmers in the area. The coop charges a 3% interest rate as opposed to the other sources in the area that charge from 12 to 15 percent interest.

The cooperative was started five years ago by the parish priest who had heard a talk about cooperatives given by a FAT representative. Members join by establishing an initial saving account and are required to save a certain proportion of their income each month. As members, they have the right to receive loans. Loans would be used for farm needs such as seed and fertilizer. A marketing cooperative is also being considered. The main obstacle is securing a means of transporting the products to the market or to specific customers.

The director of the Mirador cooperative explained that the cooperative is significant in the political life of the country in that the members have formed an institution to protect themselves from exploitation.

The U.S. delegation also had several formal and informal meetings with FAT leaders and members which led to a greater understanding of goals and strategies on both sides of the border. There was also a session on strategies for coordinating cross-border organizing.

Neo-Liberalism Up Close

Those of us in the U.S. delegation saw first hand the tactics and the results of neo-liberalism in another country. Of course we knew about privatization, union busting, temp jobs, transnationals exploiting workers, a government implementing neo-liberal policies at every possibility, but witnessing the harm these policies have caused in Mexico was enlightening. For myself, seeing this situation in another country brought me to a new level of understanding. The "race to the bottom" hurts workers everywhere. Clearly, workers in Mexico and the U.S. should not compete on the basis of who can do the job for less, but should join together to secure just wages, working and living conditions for the people of both countries.

The philosophy and methods of the FAT are different from most U.S. unions. The FAT is visionary and committed to structural change. The principles of the FAT indicate that the attempt to achieve success in the short run is important, but they clearly delineate the ultimate goal--a just and democratic society. The possibility of achieving a short term success is not allowed to jeopardize the long term goal.

Two examples of FAT organizing were significant for me. I asked Benedicto Martinez why the FAT would concern itself with the cooperative at Mirador.

The community is located high in the hills about an hour's torturous drive from the city of Puebla. The population of the village is only a few hundred and they have very little money. Benedicto responded, "We are committed to the working class. We go where people want us and have needs."

A FAT saying comes to mind, "The solidarity of the few grows to include everyone."

Another example is the position of the FAT on political parties. The Mexican labor movement has the experience of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) co-opting the Confederation of Mexican Workers, a national labor fedeeration. The FAT closely guards its independence and focuses on the needs of its members as opposed to those of a political party. Benedicto Martinez explained, "We don't support any political party with money or campaigning. We invite candidates to speak so that our members may make a choice."

We communicated well with our brothers and sisters of the FAT. This experience of cross-border understanding indicates that there is a strong basis for hope that international worker solidarity will achieve a better life for all.

From: Mexican Labor News and Analysis, May 2, 1997 Vol. II No. 9

THE AUTHENTIC LABOR FRONT IN THE MAY DAY MARCH

Members of the Authentic Labor Front (FAT) marched with the Foro group of unions. Behind the FAT's enormous banner came the striking workers from Imprenta Morales Hermanos, who were joined by trade unionists and labor educators from the U.S. and Canada. Following them were members of the Steel and Iron Workers Union (STIMAHCS), textile workers, Otis elevator workers, and many members of other trade unions which are affiliated with the FAT. The members of the contingent, who wore matching red caps and chanted slogans, came from the Federal District, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Morelos.

Also marching with the FAT was a group of young anarchist punks all dressed in black, some of whom work with the People's Kitchen (Cocina Popular). Marta Cecilia Garcia Juarez, a 23-year old member of the People's Kitchen explained that they had joined the FAT delegation because they shared its workers' self-management (auto-gestionario) perspective. The People's Kitchen, explained Garcia Juarez, is a collective made up of about 25 people, mostly between the ages of 14 and 28 who work with poor people, community groups and unions. Garcia Juarez said that the People's Kitchen teaches vegetarian cooking to unions and community groups, and recently served meals to street children.

Good news on this front as well! Our cultural and educational work has also moved forward in a project which represents a bold new approach: uniting U.S. and Mexican artists, labor and community struggles, and viewing art as a way of moving our work forward and reaching new communities at the same time. Labor muralist Mike Alewitz from New Jersey and community muralist Daniel Manrique Arias from Mexico City met in Mexico City in the Spring of 1997 where Alewitz was the principal artist on a mural entitled "Sindicalismo Sin Fronteras" (Trade Unionism without Borders) in the FAT's auditorium and Manrique on a mural entitled "Marcha Por la Autogestion" (March for Self-Management) in the area used for celebrations. The inauguration was timed to coincide with the FAT's national meeting on April 5th and couldn't have been better, with hundreds of workers, artists, and intellectuals and an appropriate dedication.