Labor Panel Told of Problems at Tijuana Plant

In a case that could ultimately lead to sanctions against Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement, a U.S. Department of Labor panel Wednesday heard hours of testimony alleging unsafe working conditions and union busting at a Tijuana border factory.

The tale of the Korean-owned Han Young factory, which produces chassis for Hyundai trucks, has become a cause celebre among critics of NAFTA, including organized labor, human rights activists and some members of Congress, who said it shows Mexico’s unwillingness to allow workers to organize.

“This illustrates a problem that goes far beyond Baja California and the Han Young plant,” said Mary Tong, who directs the San Diego-based Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers and was among those who filed a complaint with the Department of Labor. “There are thousands of maquiladoras with many thousands of workers who have attempted to organize unions but never even got this far.”

Han Young workers said dangerous working conditions led them to try to form the first independent union among the 2,700 foreign-owned factories along Mexico’s northern border, but that plant managers backed by the government tried to derail their effort with threats and bribery.

When those tactics failed, they said, the Baja California government refused to certify the election. Eventually, after a new vote, a hunger strike by four workers, and the intervention of several U.S. unions and human rights groups, the state recognized the newly elected union in December.

But plant manager Pablo Kang said at Wednesday’s hearing that he had not received official notification of the action and is refusing to negotiate with the union’s leaders because he is not convinced they have the support of the majority. He said, “70% to 80% are working now without a problem. . . . That is the best evidence I have. . . . If they are not satisfied, why do they want to come back to work?”

Employees, who earn up to $8 a day as skilled welders, said managers are hiring dozens of more docile workers from Veracruz in an attempt to eventually force out the new union.

Such practices are clearly prohibited by Mexican labor law, several attorneys testified, yet are common in Mexico, particularly in the maquiladora factories built along the northern border during the last two decades.

“Unfortunately, every time workers try to improve their conditions by organizing, there is resistance on the part of the owners, the state government and federal labor officials,” said Jose Penaflor Barron, an attorney with the independent union.

Critics of NAFTA, which cut trade barriers between Mexico, the United States and Canada, warned years ago that such unfair labor practices would artificially hold down the cost of labor in Mexico, luring U.S. companies south.

In part to satisfy their concerns, the National Administrative Office was created under the Department of Labor three years ago to monitor labor complaints under NAFTA.

NAO Secretary Irasema Garza said Wednesday that the Han Young case was the eighth involving allegations of union blocking by factory owners and government officials, and the sixth to result in a hearing. In three cases, she said, she recommended “ministerial consultations” on the matter, the strongest action the NAO could take on problems pertaining to labor organizing.

Although the panel cannot force Mexico to allow formation of independent unions, Garza said the discussions have had some impact, “contributing to a debate that already is going on in Mexico.”

She said three recent court decisions in Mexico--involving federal workers and workers in the states of Jalisco and Oaxaca--struck down laws that limited the formation of independent unions. “These legal decisions are very significant,” she said.

However, the Han Young case is the first brought to the NAO that also alleges safety violations, a charge that could lead to heavy sanctions against Mexico.

Several workers testified they were not given proper protective gear, such as gas masks and leather gloves, to protect them from sparks while welding. Armando Hernandez Roman, a welder, said he was sometimes forced to weld from a platform set on a wet floor during the rainy season.

“There was always pressure to increase production, and the raises were less than what the government called for,” he said. “That’s why we looked for a way to improve our conditions.”

However, factory manager Kang brought boxes of safety equipment, including leather gloves and masks and a log signed by employees, as proof that workers have access to protective gear.

Garza said that based on Wednesday’s testimony, as well as reports from consultants and her own investigators, she would file a report with her recommendations by mid-March.