Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Mexican Government's Recent Decision to Liquidate the Central Light and Power Company and Effectively Eliminate the Mexican Electrical Workers Union

En Español

Print This E-Mail This

IN THIS SECTION

AFL-CIO Media Outreach Department 202-637-5018.

15.3 percent of people in the United States don't have health insurance.

Find the most up-to-date data available on working family issues.

Search by:

Text search within Media Releases, Speeches & Testimony.

Advanced Search

View Another Document

Type
Month
Year

EXECUTIVE
PAYWATCH

SEARCH
- Company Name
  Industry
  100 Highest Paid CEOs
  TARP Recipient CEOs
  
  Ticker Symbol

Press Releases, Speeches & Testimony

Home > Media Center > Press Releases, Speeches & Testimony

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Mexican Government's Recent Decision to Liquidate the Central Light and Power Company and Effectively Eliminate the Mexican Electrical Workers Union
October 15, 2009

Earlier this week, the government of President Felipe Calderon announced the liquidation of the Central Light and Power Company of Mexico (Luz y Fuerza), including a summary firing of 44,000 workers following the occupation of the power plants by the Mexican Federal Police.

This unilateral action by the Mexican Government creates the conditions for eliminating Luz y Fuerza, and the possibility of merging the Company’s facilities and assets with the Federal Electrical Commission for the purpose of selling the entire package to a private corporation. It also eliminates the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME), which has been a leading democratic force in the country opposing President Calderon’s economic policies and the government’s plans to privatize the electrical industry.

On behalf of over 11 million working women and men of the United States, the AFL-CIO condemns this unilateral action by the Mexican authorities which effectively destroys the SME and the trade union rights of the Luz y Fuerza workers. Regrettably, the Mexican Government has employed similar acts of intervention and repression against the Mexican Miners and Metalworkers Union.

The AFL-CIO supports the following demands of the SME and of the Luz y Fuerza workers to reverse this egregious act of union-busting and violation of internationally recognized standards of freedom of association and collective bargaining: 1) a revocation of the government decree unilaterally liquidating the Company; 2) an end to the occupation of the power plants by the Federal Police; 3) the implementation of good-faith negotiations between the Mexican Government and the Union on the relevant financial and administrative issues.

And the AFL-CIO continues to stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers of the Mexican Miners and Metalworkers, supporting their just demands for recognition and restoration of their democratically-elected leadership, including General Secretary Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, and an immediate end to governmental repression of their Union.

Contact: (202) 637-5018