Boycott Hyundai: Bosses Block Union in Mexico Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the October 30, 1997 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- BOYCOTT HYUNDAI: BOSSES BLOCK MEXICAN WORKERS' UNION By Bob McCubbin Workers at the Han Young maquiladora in Tijuana, Mexico, have called for a worldwide boycott of Hyundai Inc., the parent company to which Han Young supplies truck chassis and platforms. On Oct. 6 these workers voted overwhelmingly for representation by an independent union. It was the first time employees have been able to vote out the establishment union in a Mexican maquiladora--plants in the "free-trade" border region where transnational corporations super-exploit workers. These unions are controlled by the ruling PRI party; they pretend to represent the workers but actually work in the interests of the Mexican government and the maquiladora owners. At the Han Young plant, the workers overcame all manner of threats and intimidation to vote for a new union not tied to the owners. The company has responded by moving to oust the workers, busing in replacements from the state of Veracruz in southeastern Mexico. The Baja California Conciliation and Arbitration Board, the state agency in charge of the union election, has refused to certify or even release the results of the vote. On Oct. 3, the governor of Baja California Norte forced board head Antonio Ortiz, who had authorized the election, to resign. His replacement: Carlos Astorga, a 13-year member of the government-aligned union and a lawyer for the owners' association. Astorga is also a close associate of Jose Mandujano. This is a former labor board head and a scab herder who deployed goons and scabs in an unsuccessful effort to throw the election to the company the day of the union vote. In the United States, the Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers will coordinate Hyundai boycott activities. The boycott will kick off on Oct. 25. Supporters of the Han Young workers will picket Hyundai dealerships in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kansas City, Mo., Tucson, Ariz., Portland, Ore., Buffalo, N.Y., and other cities. Details on picketing plans are available from the committee at (619) 542-0826. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://workers.org) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytlab-10.22.97-23:16:55-7052