MEXICAN LABOUR:

DEFEND INDEPENDENT UNION AT MEXMODE:

The following appeal comes via the United Students Against Sweatshops. It concerns an attempt on the part of 'Antorcha', an union connected with the PRI of Mexico to use gangster tactics to attack an indpendent union t the Mexmode factory in Atlixco, mexico.

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DEFEND INDEPENDENT UNION AT MEXMODE AGAINST PARTISAN ATTACKS!
On May 21, the Antorcha Campesina organization, linked to the PRI political party, attempted to take over the independent union at the Mexmode (formerly Kukdong) factory in Atlixco, Mexico. According to eyewitness reports and video shot at the scene, several hundred supporters of Antorcha (a political organization with a history of paramilitary activity) held an "assembly" outside the Mexmode factory where they "elected" a slate to replace the existing, legally elected leadership of the Independent Union of Mexmode Workers (SITEMEX). While between one and two hundred workers from the factory participated in the assembly, the numbers were far less than the two-thirds of the union's 740 members needed to legally hold an assembly. The 50-100 unknown men carrying sticks, who appeared to patrol the assembly and the surrounding area, intimidated the workers. The Antorcha organization has carried out a campaign of intimidation over the last several months, issuing threats and extortion directed at the Mexmode company and the Sitemex union. These actions are an attempt to roll back the gains made by the independent union since it ousted a pro-government union, the FROC-CROC, in 2001. Tell me more

Please go to THIS LINK to read more and support this campaign by sending the following letter to the authorities in the Mexican State of Pueba.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

Gobernador del Estado de Puebla Mario Marin Torres

Secretaria Jose Ramos Lobato, Puebla Junta

Below is the sample letter:
Subject: NO RECONOZCA los resultados de una asamblea falsa!
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
En mi calidad de consumidor preocupado por las violaciones de los derechos laborales en México, les escribo para expresar mi alarma al saber que la organización Antorcha Campesina está realizando una campaña de hostigamiento e intimidación en contra de la empresa Mexmode y el Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores de la Empresa Mexmode (Sitemex). El último suceso en esta campaña fue una "asamblea" realizada el día 21 de mayo del presente año. Esta asamblea es ilegal por varias razones, incluyendo la falta del quórum que los estatutos del Sindicato requieren y la presencia de más de 50 golpeadores enviados por parte de Antorcha Campesina quienes amenazaron e intimidaron a los trabajadores de la fábrica.

Insto a la Junta Local de Conciliación y Arbitraje a NO RECONOCER los resultados de esta falsa Asamblea, y tomar las medidas necesarias para que el grupo Antorcha desista de su campaña contra las y los trabajadores de Mexmode y la inversión extranjera en México.
Sincerely,