VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #1547/01 1711615
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201615Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0589
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 001547 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2017 
TAGS: ELAB KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL NU
SUBJECT: TEACHERS HOPE TO FORM FIRST "SUPER" UNION 
 
REF: A. MANAGUA 1083 
 
     ¶B. MANAGUA 1495 
 
Classified By: Charge Peter Brennan for reasons 1.4(B,D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Democratic teachers' unions hope to form a 
national alliance ("Central") in order to gain negotiating 
power with the Ortega government and more effectivley contest 
the alliance between Education Minister Miguel De Castilla 
and pro-Sandinista teachers' union ANDEN.  Union leaders will 
announce their plans to form a Central on June 29, National 
Teachers' Day.  Nicaraguan human rights NGO, Nicaraguan 
Permanent Commission for Human Rights (CPDH) is supporting 
this effort.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C) In a June 14 meeting with poloff, leaders from two of 
the seven largest unions comprising the informal United 
Teachers Union (USM) revealed plans to form a "super" union - 
called a "Central" over the next few months.  Doing so would 
enable the education sector's democratic labor movement to 
contest the negotiating power of ANDEN, the 
government-aligned labor union that negotiated an agreement 
with De Castilla that caused a two-month stand-off between 
teachers and the Ministry, and brought the education sector 
to the brink of revolt (reftel A). 
 
Current Landscape of Teachers' Unions 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Nicaraguan national education system includes 
approximately 39,000 teachers, represented, roughly, by 23 
labor unions.  The largest single union, ANDEN, headed by 
Jose Antonio Zepeda, claims to have about 20,000 members 
nationwide.  ANDEN is aligned with the current government. 
Eleven unions are aligned with the Nicaraguan National 
Teachers Confederation (CNMN), headed by Carlos Bojorge, who 
is leading the current opposition movement against ANDEN. 
The remaining teachers are scattered between the other 11 
unions and have mixed ideological alliances.  Further 
complicating the landscape is the United Teachers Union 
(USM).  According to Bojorge, USM is not a legal union or 
confederation, but a democratic labor movement that includes 
members of CNMN and, claims Bojorge, the majority of the 
otherwise non-aligned unions. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) During the February-April unrest in the education 
sector this year, Bojorge and leaders of six independent 
unions, led the opposition against Minister De Castilla and 
ANDEN in the name of the USM movement.  As such, USM claimed 
to represent some 16,000 teachers (vs. 20,000 for ANDEN) and 
over 17 separate unions (the eleven formally aligned under 
CNMN plus the unions of each of the six leaders that united 
with Bojorge's CNMN). During the two-month conflict, USM 
became a household name, appearing almost daily on the 
front-page of the national newspapers.  However, at this 
point, USM, according to Bojorge, is not a formally 
incorporated labor confederation. 
 
Exploiting the Labor Law 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5.  (C) Fearing that further collusion between ANDEN and De 
Castilla will continue to undermine other unions, Bojorge and 
others hope to exploit article 228 of the Nicaraguan Labor 
Code (Law 185).  Article 228 specifies that two legal labor 
confederations within the same guild can form a "Central" - a 
"super" confederation that would trump any single union or 
confederation in labor negotiations.  Although written into 
the labor code, this article has never been exercised in the 
education sector because, under the previous three Liberal 
governments, democratic teachers' unions always had the upper 
hand against the larger ANDEN and never contemplated 
government action against them. 
 
Opposition's Plan - Putting the Cart Before the Horse 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6.  (C) On June 29, National Teachers' Day, Bojorge and the 
other union leaders backing the USM movement, plan to 
publicly sign an agreement announcing the creation of USM as 
a Central.  As a show of worker solidarity and support for 
the idea, USM leaders plan to invite 800 workers, if they can 
secure a location and funding.  CPDH has agreed to help 
organize the event to further capitalize on the momentum 
created by USM during teachers' work stoppage to advance its 
own human rights agenda (reftel B). 
 
¶7.  (C) The problem, however, is that there is no second 
labor confederation allied with CNMN at this time.  By 
pre-announcing their plan, Bojorge and others have shown 
their hand, potentially giving ANDEN time to find or form its 
own counterpart confederation to form a Central.  It could 
become a race to see who can first create a second 
confederation and a Central.  Bojorge believes that most of 
the eleven "non-aligned" unions are predisposed towards the 
USM, but underlined the need to meet face-to-face with union 
representatives at the department level.  He indicated that 
he and other USM leaders were working with CPDH to develop an 
aggressive plan to visit the departments.  By October, 
Bojorge hopes to have USM registered as a Central. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶8.  (C) Bojorge, the driving force behind this labor 
strategy, appears to be the right man for the job.  In 
contrast to the stereotypical firebrand labor leader, he is 
serious, quiet, and has strong analytical skills.  He knows 
Nicaraguan labor laws and has a clear vision for creating a 
unified labor movement.  Aligning with CPDH was a smart move 
because it elevates his struggle out of the labor arena, 
broadening the potential support base while giving him access 
to experienced well-connected organizers and some additional 
financial resources.  If Bojorge and company can move fast 
enough -- taking advantage of the goodwill and brand 
recognition built-up during the work stoppage -- their goal 
of rapidly creating a second confederation and completing the 
bureaucratic process to create a Central is feasible. 
BRENNAN