VZCZCXRO9868
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHM RUEHHO RUEHJO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHPOD
RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #2285/01 1291150
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091150Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6792
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 002285 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/AWH AND ILCRS, WHA/MEX AND PPC, USDOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV SOCI PINR MX
SUBJECT: NORTHERN MEXICO: LABOR UNIONS COMPETE AMONG 
THEMSELVES 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: If the northern Mexican states of Nuevo Leon 
(which includeS the major industrial city of Monterrey) and 
Coahuila are any indication, labor relations in that part of 
Mexico are marked by a general sense of cooperation between 
the unions and the region,s larger private and public 
employers. In recent meetings with the regional leadership of 
several national unions, Embassy Mexico City,s Labor 
Counselor was repeatedly told of how closely unions work with 
employers to amicably resolve labor related issues.  The 
general peace that prevails in relations between unions and 
employers does not appear to exist to the same degree between 
the unions themselves. The national unions represented in 
northern Mexico compete among themselves to provide their 
members with social services.  This competition is in part a 
move to fill the gap between the level of services provided 
by all levels of the Mexican government and what the workers 
say they need to improve their quality of life. On another 
level, the competition between unions has all the aspects of 
a low intensity struggle for political power. At present this 
struggle is well, contained but at some point it could impact 
general relations between management and labor should the 
unions feel the need to obtain increased resources to show 
their members which of them is the better provider.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
MEETINGS WITH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR UNIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  Embassy Mexico City,s Labor Counselor recently visited 
the northern Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila to, 
among other things, observe the state of labor relations in 
that part of Mexico.  These two states account for a 
substantial portion of Mexico,s industrial production and 
are the recipients of large amounts of foreign investment, a 
significant majority of which originates in the US. Over the 
course of a three-day visit Labor Counselor met with the 
regional leadership of several national unions in both the 
public and private sectors. 
 
¶4.  During this visit Embassy Labor Counselor met with heads 
of two of the country,s larger private sector labor 
federations; the Confederation of Mexican workers (CTM) and 
the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants 
(CROC).  The CTM is the largest organized labor association 
in Mexico, roughly comparable to the AFL-CIO.  The CROC is 
perhaps Mexico,s third largest labor association and is 
particularly strong in the hotel and food service industries. 
Labor Counselor also met with representatives of two of the 
larger public sector labor unions; the Sole Union of 
Electrical Workers of Mexico (SUTERM) and the Railroad 
Workers Union of Mexico (STFRM).  Technically speaking the 
SUTERM is not the sole electrical workers union but it is, by 
far, the larger of two such unions in Mexico.  Moreover, as 
the railroads in Mexico are no longer public, the STFRM is 
not really a public sector labor union but it began as one 
and still functions as if it had a single national employer. 
 
 
 
ALL QUIET ON THE LABOR FRONT 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  All of the above mentioned labor organizations are 
officially tied to Mexico,s former ruling political party, 
the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). In the past, 
these ties to the PRI, previously the official government 
party, helped insure that affiliated labor unions received 
favorable hearings with the Mexican government which in turn 
would intercede on their behalf with both public and private 
employers. Perhaps because of the size and vitality of the 
private sector in northern Mexico (particularly in the states 
of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila) government and party support for 
the unions there was not as significant a factor as in other 
parts of Mexico. Broadly speaking, it can be said that the 
business of northern Mexico is business and this prevailing 
attitude among both labor unions and employers has long been 
an underlying factor in the general labor peace that exists 
in this part of Mexico. 
 
¶6.  Without exception, all of the union leaders with whom 
post,s Labor Counselor met unequivocally stated that they 
had good and cooperative relations with the region,s 
 
MEXICO 00002285  002 OF 003 
 
 
employers.  The labor leaders often underscored an awareness, 
both by them and their union members, on the need to help 
employers reach company productivity goals. Moreover, most of 
the union leaders praised the regions, employers for their 
cooperative attitude with respect to investing in worker 
training.  There is no question that the union leaders who 
met with Embassy Labor Counselor understood that Mexican 
businesses had to be prepared to compete globally if they 
hoped to survive and grow. Given the broad sense of shared 
interests described by these union leaders, it is difficult 
to envision a situation in that part of northern Mexico that 
might lead to protracted labor unrest. 
 
 
THE REAL COMPETITON IS BETWEEN THE UNIONS THEMSELVES 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7.  The quiet labor situation that exists between the unions 
and the regions, employers notwithstanding, all is not 
sweetness and light on the labor front.  Since the regions, 
labor unions have effectively ruled out for now any actions 
that might create difficulties for employers, they appear to 
have turned their competitive energies against each other. 
This seems to be particularly true in the case of the CTM and 
the CROC where both regional and national trends may be 
factors in the competition that exists between these unions. 
 
¶8.  As noted above, in the past, all of the unions with whom 
Labor Counselor met were closely tied to the PRI, Mexico,s 
former ruling part.  When the PRI lost power in 2000, its 
ability to provide for its supporters (in terms of money, 
political protection and patronage) declined sharply. 
Consequently, labor unions (both regionally and nationally) 
that previously counted on the party/government for 
preferential treatment and support now had to fend for 
themselves in a broad range of areas. This prompted some 
unions to reassess their relationship with the PRI. 
Officially the CTM, CROC, SUTERM and STFRM are all still part 
of the PRI however their degree of party commitment varies. 
 
¶9.  The CTM and the Railroad Workers Union (STFRM) are still 
committed to the PRI 100 percent.  The SUTERM (at least in 
northern Mexico) appears much more interested in avoiding 
privatization by helping Mexico,s largest electric utility 
company increase productivity than in any type of politics. 
The real question mark among these unions is the CROC.  In 
Mexico,s 2006 presidential elections the CROC,s national 
union leader openly campaigned not for the PRI,s candidate 
but rather for the candidate of the Party of the Democratic 
Revolution (PRD).  The PRD candidate lost the election but 
only by a hair and the PRD emerged from the contest as 
Mexico,s main opposition party.  Since then the CROC at the 
national level has taken a position of greater independence 
from the PRI and that sentiment seems to have filtered down 
to the unions, offices in northern Mexico. 
 
 
WHAT THE UNIONS HAVE TO OFFER 
----------------------------- 
 
¶10.  For the most part, the unions in Nuevo Leon and Coahuila 
are satisfied with the wages and benefits they have gained 
for their members and seem generally unwilling to press 
employers for more in these areas.  Instead they have taken 
it upon themselves to improve the quality of life of their 
members by offering them more and better social services than 
they currently receive from almost any level of the Mexican 
government.  All of the unions, to varying degrees, now offer 
their member and the members, families a range of health; 
education, recreational and retirement benefit services. 
With the exception of retirement services, most of these 
benefits are generally supported by the unions, own funds. 
 
¶11.  All of the union representatives with whom post,s Labor 
Counselor met described student scholarship programs that 
were almost identical.  In other areas, however, the unions 
are focusing their effort on differing areas.  The CROC is 
focusing on youth sports and education; it even claims it is 
well on the way to forming its own university.  The CTM is 
concentrating on sports in general and on a variety of health 
care services; it claims to operate the only union-run 
substance abuse treatment center in Mexico.  SUTERM is 
working in the area of family recreation and better 
retirement services.  The STFRM has devoted all of its 
 
MEXICO 00002285  003 OF 003 
 
 
resources (not counting its scholarship program) to providing 
retirement services benefits to its former members and their 
families. 
 
 
COMMENT: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN 
------------------------------ 
 
¶12.  In talking to labor leaders in northern Mexico, the 
competition between the unions has many of the aspects of a 
low intensity struggle for political power. The unions claim 
that modern labor movements have to be as concerned about 
what happens to the workers off the job as about what happens 
to them on the job. None of the leaders seemed to feel that 
any level of the Mexican government would be able to provide 
the type of social services the workers needed to improve 
their quality of life so all of them had taken it upon their 
organizations to fill the gap.  That said, one did not have 
to look very deep or listen for very long to see that the 
unions all hoped to do well (politically) by doing good. At 
present, their competition to provide workers with better 
social services and thereby increase their political standing 
seems very well contained.  However, it is not hard to 
foresee a situation where competition among unions will shift 
the dynamic away from providing members with expanded social 
services and back to the getting increased wages and benefits 
from employers. 
 
¶13.  This message was cleared with AmConsul Monterrey. 
 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
GARZA