March 03, 2008
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Key Safety Systems management, the management-friendly “charro” union, and local law enforcement mobilize to repress a possible general wild cat strike at Key Safety Systems KSS workers are resisting in the field and they need your support! As another leader is fired, workers intensify their organizing efforts! |
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What you can do:
February 28th- Workers from plants 1, 2, 3, and 4 confronted the management-friendly CTM union leaders who were trying to prevent workers from entering the union hall to demand a living wage in the collective bargaining. Workers of plant number one said “we produce 222 steering wheels per line daily, and every one of them costs 80 dollars. We deserve an increase of at least 30% because KSS is making millionaire profits off our work.” On February 18th it was rumored that the assembly lines of all KSS plants would go on a Wild Cat Strike. The KSS security guards and management mobilized inside the plants, and police were in the parking lot and the exits. In plant #4, workers who are members of the Workers’ Coalition were intimidated by the chief supervisor. In plant #3, two workers were harassed by KSS management. Juan Manuel Martinez, the worker who represents the Workers’ Coalition in plant #3, was accused of organizing the wild cat strike and was fired. He had asked Arturo Villanueva, the KSS manager, to increase salaries and to stop deducting 200 pesos when workers miss a day of work instead of the 89 pesos they earn. As of now, 5 workers have been fired for their efforts to improve their working conditions. Please read the chronology below and send letters to Jason Luo, CEO of Key Safety Systems, at luoj@keysafetyinc.com. Copy and Paste sample letter to KSS Safety Systems Jason Luo CEO Dear Mr. Luo I am writing to you because I am aware that in the Key Safety Systems plants of Valle Hermoso, Mexico, general manager Servando Salazar and human resources manager Angelica Martinez unjustly fired several workers for seeking to improve their working conditions and for their efforts to organize a union in accordance with Mexican and international labor law. Javier Resendez, Perla Cruz, Maria del Refugio Briseño, Juan Manuel Martinez and Jose Alfredo Donjuan of plants 3 and 4 have been unjustly fired by KSS local management. As you may know, some of these workers have contributed to KSS profit margins by traveling to Romania to train workers there. The workers in Valle Hermoso are defending their universal rights to safe working conditions, freedom of speech and association, and to a living wage. KSS local management cannot continue to violate their labor and human rights. We demand that these workers be reinstated immediately with back pay, and that working conditions be improved and salaries augmented in accordance with the Workers’ Coalition letter of January 29th, 2008. Please know that I will be closely monitoring the events that follow. Respectfully, (YOUR NAME/ or ORGANIZATION) CC: Administration: Key Safety Systems Inc.- webmaster@keysafetyinc.com
Dear I am writing to express my deep concern about labor and human rights violations in plants in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, Mexico that are operated by your supplier, Key Safety Systems. I am aware that in the Key Safety Systems plants of Valle Hermoso, general manager Servando Salazar and human resources manager Angelica Martinez unjustly fired several workers for seeking to improve their working conditions. Javier Resendez, Perla Cruz, Maria del Refugio Briseño, Juan Manuel Martinez and Jose Alfredo Donjuan of plants 3 and 4 have been unjustly fired by KSS local management. As you may know, some of these workers have contributed to KSS profit margins by traveling to Romania to train workers there. The workers in Valle Hermoso are defending their universal rights to safe working conditions, freedom of speech and association, and to a living wage. KSS local management cannot continue to violate their labor and human rights. I respectfully ask that you contact KSS and demand that these workers be reinstated immediately with back pay, and that working conditions be improved and salaries augmented in accordance with the Workers’ Coalition letter of January 29th, 2008. I will be closely monitoring the events that follow. Respectfully, (YOUR NAME/ or ORGANIZATION) Cc: Key Safety Systems Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------Chronology: February 15th Friday, the CTM management-friendly “charro” union called workers from plant #4 to a general meeting. Of more than a thousand workers working in that plant, only 60 to 80 showed up at the CTM union hall. Teresa Gonzalez, the new CTM leader who was never elected by workers, showed up with her team of underlings and body guards. What was said in the CTM union meeting? The union delegate informed them that KSS paid full severance payments to the 4 workers who were unjustly fired. This is false, since workers are in the process of demanding their reinstatement at the Conciliation and Arbitration Board. The union leaders told workers that all improvements at the plants are happening because of the new CTM leader, not because of the Workers’ Coalition. An example of this, they claimed, is that when workers miss a day of work, KSS’ policy is to deduct the productivity and attendance bonus for two weeks from their salaries. Now, they said, thanks to the CTM union, KSS will deduct the bonus of one week only. Workers said that KSS has been doing that for years, and the CTM union never did anything before. The union delegate told them that the CTM will give them a workshop on labor rights, the second shift on Saturday and first shift on Sunday. Workers said that in more than twelve years, the CTM union has never been interested in teaching them about their labor rights, and the Workers’ Coalition has been teaching them about their rights for months. The CTM invited workers to bring their families to celebrate the CTM union anniversary with a party on Sunday February 17th. Workers reported that at the party, union leaders threatened them not to join the workers’ Coalition and promised to give them free groceries. February 18th Monday- Plant #4 It was rumored that there would be a general wild cat strike at all KSS plants. All managers and security guards were put on high alert and were witnessed throughout the plants conducting surveillance of the workforce. When workers of subassembly line 49 arrived at their stations, they saw a big sign with red letters saying “TODAY ONLY” on the line’s blackboard. KSS company attorney Irma Serrano took pictures of the sign and then of the workers: Ernesto, Lupita, and Diana [all of them are members and leaders of the Workers’ Coalition]. Later, the chief of supervisors Augusto Sibajas posted himself behind workers as their bodyguard all day until 5:00 p.m. “On the line, there should be 20 workers, but they wanted us to meet the standard production of 20 with three,” one of the workers said. “In the new assembly line that KSS just inaugurated last week, nine workers are producing 352 airbags daily. In 2003, those air bags cost 900 dollars each, which means that KSS is making $316,800 daily, and they are paying each worker 8 dollars a day. We deserve to make more,” another worker said. “Our families cannot make ends meet.” “In addition, we aren’t allowed to use the microphone anymore to call for what we need,” another said. The workers were allowed to call for mechanics, electronics, security guards and material lists by microphone to fix machines or to provide material, but now they have to go to the personnel office if they need to call for anyone. Plant number #3 security guards and management were mobilizing everywhere. Two workers were harassed by KSS management, and Juan Manuel Martinez, the worker who represents the Workers’ Coalition in plant #3, was fired. Juan Manuel was called to the human resources office, where KSS lawyer Alfonzo Castillo told him that he was no longer a KSS worker. Juan Manuel was accused of organizing the wild cat strike, which he denied. The KSS manager told Juan Manuel that he was misinformed, because KSS pays the best wages in the region. Juan Manuel said that it wasn’t true; that “while KSS makes billions, we aren’t making a decent wage, and therefore we are unhappy with the salary we are making.” The security guard took Juan Manuel to the lockers and outside of the company. Plant # 1 The workers of the Workers’ Coalition observed management, security guards, and police guarding doors, exit areas and the parking lot, waiting for the wild cat strike. February 19th Tuesday Jaime Carballo, the KSS chief security guard, called a specialist on industrial Coalitions, seeking advice. February 21st Thursday -From Monday to Thursday, there were no jobs on several assembly lines, because KSS is changing the model for China’s model seatbelts. However, the representatives of the Workers’ Coalition couldn’t talk to anyone and were not allowed to go to the parking lot or cafeteria, according to workers. One accomplishment is that KSS is not sending workers to their homes and paying them 50% of their salaries, as they used to do when the assembly line was halted. All this is because the Workers’ Coalition addressed in their letter the legal argument showing that KSS was violating the law in doing so. Now KSS is keeping workers in the cafeteria or providing training by groups and paying them 100% of their salary at those times. -On Thursday, a memo from KSS management was posted requesting birth and marriage certificates, social security numbers, and affiliation papers from the health care program [IMSS] from all workers at plant #4. KSS argued that the IMSS system was down, and that they now needed to start from the beginning, affiliating all workers with the IMSS. “It is mandatory under Mexican law that all workers be affiliated with the IMSS [government health care program] as soon we start to work. I went to the IMSS, and they said that there is no system down. To me, this means that KSS did not affiliate us with the IMSS as they should have done according to the law, and now they want to affiliate everyone at the last minute because we are demanding the payment of the IMSS and INFONAVIT [government housing program] dues in our legal complaints for reinstatement,” said a worker who has been fired. The workers, who are in the explosives department in plant #4, received antistatic leather heels as safety equipment, and supervisors received orders from KSS management to identify chemicals used in the plants with tags and labels. Instead, they offered a special meal to the workers so they would volunteer to tag the chemicals with labels. -Servando Salazar had a meeting with workers with perfect attendance and told them that thanks to them, the assembly line of airbags was moved from Juarez to Valle Hermoso, because in Juarez there is a high index of worker rotation. Meanwhile, the components that workers handle in operation 2 are coming from China and are poor quality. The retractor starts making noise once it is assembled. Supervisors told workers that they have to apply some kind of powder to eliminate the noise. The workers don’t know what kind of powder they are using, and KSS is not providing them with that information or with masks to protect them. A worker from the second shift assembling the explosives in line 49 said “I have been working for 6 years in final inspection, and there is a machine that releases really fine particles of a metal that is like aluminum. I cleaned my nose with cotton, and there was metal inside, as well as in my throat. I was spitting blood. I used the mask that KSS used to give us, but that doesn’t protect from this kind of aluminum, because at the end of the shift there was a silver circle spot around my mouth like the bottom of an empty coca cola can.” KSS gave a pamphlet to the workers informing them that from February 26 to 28 there would be an inspection to obtain the ISO 14001 certification. The pamphlet says that when there is an oil spill, the workers have to put the oil inside a red container. But workers said that there hasn’t been any red container in the plant for a year now. It is just when they come to certify the plant that KSS supervisors put containers on the line, labels on the chemicals, and give leather heel protectors and masks to the workers, and so on. It also said in the pamphlet that if there is a hurricane, workers have to protect themselves in the secure areas of the factory and run to the cafeteria if they are working. But workers said that there is more rain inside the cafeteria than outside of the factory. February 22ndst Thursday The CTM union called workers of plant number one to a meeting. They told the workers that the union will negotiate an increase of 4 to 6% for all of the plants, because CTM has the contract with KSS. Workers were upset and asked why the manager of plant number 3 had told Juan Manuel that every plant was independent, when now the union was saying that there is one contract for all the plants and there will be the same increase for all. The workers responded that they don’t want an increase of 2 or 3 dollars, since KSS is making a lot of profit off of their work, and that they deserved at least an increase of 10 to 15 dollars. Furthermore, they said that they are all members of the Workers’ Coalition. February 22ndst Thursday- The workers of plant number 1 demanded of the CTM a general meeting with workers from all plants at 6:00 p.m. When workers of plants number 1, 2, 3 and 4 arrived at the union hall, they found out that the CTM union delegates had a meeting with a few workers from plant 4, trying to convince them to withdraw from the Workers’ Coalition. The union leaders tried to prevent workers who were arriving from entering the union hall, but all of workers entered, pushing the CTM union leaders inside. A man who was reportedly the assistant of Teresa Gonzalez, the woman who nobody elected, told the workers that the CTM union agreed to a 4% salary increase with KSS management. Workers were furious and told the union leaders, “You don’t know what we produce here. We are making 222 steering wheels in every line daily; every one of them costs 80 dollars, which means that KSS is making millionaire’s profits with our work, and we deserve a better increase.” The CTM man said they also agreed to another 4% increase in bonuses. Workers were upset, and confronted the union leaders for two hours. Finally, workers told them that they would hold a meeting outside the plants with all workers the next day, because they knew that the KSS CEO Jason Luo would be visiting the plants from Monday to Wednesday. But the KSS manager did not allow them to meet in the parking lot or on the streets because the industrial park is private property. However they said that they would approach him demanding that the 5 workers who were fired be reinstated with back pay, and that the Workers’ Coalition be recognized to negotiate a salary increase of 30%, not in bonuses, because KSS management looks for excuses to avoid paying the bonus. Key Safety System Workers’ Coalition for Justice and Labor Rights- More accomplishments February 18th Monday Plant # 4- On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there were no jobs in several assembly lines because KSS is changing the model for China’s model seatbelts. However, KSS is not sending workers to their homes and paying them 50% of their salaries as they used to do. All this is because the Workers’ Coalition addressed in their letter the legal argument showing that KSS was violating the law in doing so, and now KSS is keeping workers in the cafeteria or providing training by groups and paying them 100% of their salary. -February 21st Thursday- In the area of explosives, where workers insert the gas micro generator in the air bag to make it explode and in the seatbelt to make it tight to prevent a head collision with the windshield in an accident, workers were told that KSS would provide a leather heel to the four Ford lines and the two Chrysler lines to protect them from the antistatic. A worker said she was glad to have the antistatic leather heel, because in the five years she has been working there, they have never gotten any protection like that and she was concerned because the micro generator they manage has a cylinder filled with gunpowder by a sensor. Soldiers used to come to inspect the gunpowder, but they suddenly stopped coming. -The chemicals are being labeled with tags so inspectors will be able to identify them. |