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DE RUEHME #4114/01 2142152
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P 022152Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8263
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHRS/AMCONSUL MATAMOROS 1866
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 004114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL/C (BROWN), DRL/AWH AN ILCSR, WHA/MEX AND PPC, 
USDOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR ELAB PGOV ECON PINR SOCI MX
SUBJECT: AMCONSUL MATAMOROS HOSTS UNION, PRIVATE SECTOR AND 
GOVERNMENT DISCUSSIONS ON DRUG ABUSE IN THE WORKPLACE 
 
 
MEXICO 00004114  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  On July 20, AmConsul Matamoros hosted a meeting 
aimed at opening a discussion on ways to prevent drug abuse 
in general and abuse in the workplace in particular.  The 
meeting was attended by representatives of Mexico,s largest 
labor federations (CTM), the local president of a national 
business association, a GOM official (Public Security 
Secretariat), a concerned parastatal agency and Mission 
 
SIPDIS 
Mexico,s Labor Counselor.  The idea for such a meeting grew 
out of a series of ongoing conversations involving Mission 
Labor Counselor and the CTM on potential areas of increased 
cooperation between unions and the USG.  AmConsul Matamoros 
enthusiastically embraced the idea of hosting the meeting as 
a way to further promote the commitment made by Presidents 
Bush and Calderon in March 2007 to increase US/Mexico border 
cooperation.  All participants at this exploratory meeting 
expressed strong approval for the idea of a multidisciplinary 
project involving unions, the private sector and the 
governments of the US and Mexico.  A follow-up meeting to set 
realistic goals that would avoid duplication of other ongoing 
efforts related to the problems of drug abuse was set for 
August 14.  If this pilot initiative succeeds it could well 
serve as a model for expanded union and USG cooperation on 
other issues and with other posts along the US/Mexico border. 
  END SUMMARY 
 
 
UNION/USG COOPERATION 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  Over the past year Mission Mexico,s Labor Counselor has 
attempted to promote the idea of a more institutionalized 
relationship between the USG and some of Mexico,s larger 
labor unions.  Until recently the reaction to this idea has 
been long on promise but short on results.  Mexico,s labor 
unions traditionally operate in a somewhat closed environment 
that does not extend beyond other union officials, sector 
employers and Mexican government officials.  In recent years, 
for a variety of reasons, the Mexican unions have had little 
direct contact with USG officials.  Consequently, union 
officials have been rather hesitant with regards to their 
interactions with the USG. 
 
¶3.  In time some, although certainly not all, of the unions 
have begun to open up.  One of the ones that have been the 
most amenable to working with the USG has been the 
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM).  The CTM is perhaps 
the largest federation of labor unions in Mexico and is rough 
equivalent to the US, AFL-CIO.  On several different 
occasions CTM officials responded affirmatively to 
suggestions from Mission Mexico,s Labor Counselor that they 
consider establishing a closer cooperation with the USG.  The 
CTM,s Office of Social Welfare and Ecology seemed the most 
open to the concept of Union/USG cooperation. 
 
¶4.  The CTM,s Social Welfare Office deals with a variety of 
issues including those related to such topics as pensions, 
child labor, women,s (workplace) rights and healthcare.  At 
present one of the CTM,s Social Welfare Office,s main 
concerns is the issue of drug abuse in the workplace.  Labor 
Counselor therefore agreed to try and work with the union on 
this issue and proposed serving as a liaison between some of 
the CTM,s regional offices throughout Mexico and some of the 
USG,s border posts. 
 
 
SOME DIMENSIONS OF THE PROBLEM 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  Most Mexicans, including those in the labor sector, now 
acknowledge that Mexico is no longer simply a drug transit 
country; it is now also a drug consuming country.  The 
seriousness of the consumer aspects of drug abuse in the 
workplace in Mexico was recently discussed at the July 
monthly meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce,s Human 
Resources and Labor Committee.  According to the Committee 
Chairman, a soon to be released study indicates that at least 
12 percent of surveyed Mexican workers acknowledged the use 
of some form of illegal substance in the workplace within the 
last 30 days.  The Committee Chairman said he could not speak 
to the study,s methodology as he had not yet received a full 
 
MEXICO 00004114  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
copy of the finished report.  However, as a labor attorney 
with a strong human resources background, he speculated that 
if 12 percent of surveyed workers admitted using illegal 
drugs while at work the percentage was probably much higher. 
Human nature being what it is, he opined, people often fail 
to respond truthfully to polls asking about illegal 
activities. 
 
¶6.  Another Committee member shared with the meeting 
participants his company,s recent experience hiring new 
employees in the Mexicali area of Mexico,s Pacific 
Northwest.  The Committee member stated that his firm 
advertised job openings for 15 new positions.  The company 
received more than 450 applications for the job which did not 
come as a particular surprise.  What did surprise the company 
was that 215 of the people who passed the initial screening 
failed a pre-employment drug test. Other aspects of the 
problems of drug abuse in the work place discussed at the 
monthly meeting included such themes as drug abuse among 
corporate executives, absenteeism, increases in job related 
accidents, theft of company property, violence and drug 
trafficking on company property. 
 
 
AMCONSUL MATAMOROS HOSTS MEETING ON DRUGS IN THE WORKPLACE 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶7.  Because Matamoros has recently undertaken other public 
outreach initiatives on both sides of the US/Mexico border it 
seemed an ideal choice to approach with the idea of working 
more closely with unions within its jurisdiction. Matamoros 
enthusiastically embraced the idea as a way to further build 
on the commitment made by President Bush and Mexican 
President Felipe Calderon during their summit in Merida in 
March 2007 to increase US/Mexico border cooperation. 
Consequently, an initial meeting was set of July 20, 2007 and 
Embassy Mexico,s Labor Counselor began communications with 
CTM officials work out the arrangements for a gathering to 
take place in Matamoros on that date. 
 
¶8.  During the planning for the July 20 meeting the event 
eventually developed beyond just a meeting of USG and CTM 
officials to include a Mexican government representative and 
an official of a concerned NGO.  At the actual meeting the 
USG was represented by Matamoros, Principal Officer (PO), 
its Consular Chief, an Econ cone E/L Officer and the head of 
the post,s FSN employee association and the Embassy Labor 
Counselor.  The CTM was represented by the Secretary General 
for Maquiladoras in Matamoros and the Coordinator General for 
Union,s Social Welfare Office headquartered in Mexico City. 
The private sector was represented by the state President of 
CANACINTRA, a business alliance roughly equivalent to the 
US,s National Association Manufacturers.  The GOM was 
represented by the Director of the federal Public Security 
Secretariat,s (SSP) Crime Prevention office. Finally an NGO 
 
SIPDIS 
representative for an organization whose focus is on 
treatment and rehabilitation called the &Center for Youth 
Integration8 (CIJ) was present.  CIJ is a parastatal agency 
affiliated with the federal Health Secretariat, and acts as 
the main implementer of GOM drug demand reduction activities. 
 
 
AGREEMENT ON A PILOT PROGRAM 
---------------------------- 
 
¶9.  Under the auspices of Mission Mexico represented by 
AmConsul Matamoros and the Embassy Labor Counselor, the July 
20 meeting brought together labor and capital, as well as 
both a prevention (the SSP representative) and a treatment 
(the NGO rep) component to discuss the problems of drug abuse 
in the workplace. Right from the start it became clear that 
all meeting participants had ideas and resources that could 
be brought to the table to address a common concern. It soon 
became clear that the union, the business association 
president and the SSP representative were in agreement on 
many aspects of the problem.  Their assessment of the issues 
involved closely mirror the points mentioned above during the 
totally separate meeting of the AmCham Human Resources and 
Labor Committee meeting such as drug abuse among corporate 
 
MEXICO 00004114  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
executives (they have the ready cash to buy drugs), 
absenteeism, increased job related accidents, workplace 
theft, violence and drug trafficking on company property. 
 
¶10.  During the course of the meeting the group settled on 
the idea of a multidisciplinary project involving unions, the 
private sector and the governments of the US and Mexico 
supporting the initiative as appropriate. For example the 
Matamoros CTM leader offered to assume initial organizational 
responsibility for the initiative and promised to reach out 
to other non-CTM unions to invite their participation.  The 
local CANACINTRA President committed his organization to 
reaching out to other private organizations, such as the 
Matamoros Rotary,s Club.  The NGO promised to provide drug 
awareness training materials and possibly even trainers. 
Matamoros, PO offered to reach out to her contacts in the 
two nearest Mexican consulates on the US side of the border 
and the SSP official offered to serve as the liaison with 
other relevant GOM agencies. 
 
¶11.  At the end of the meeting the Mexico City CTM official 
conferred with the participants to work out the next steps in 
the initiative.  The first thing everyone agreed on was the 
need for a follow-up meeting to set realistic goals.  The 
participants also want to ensure that whatever they attempt 
would not be duplicative of other ongoing efforts of other 
organizations or government agencies related to the problems 
of drug abuse.  The follow-up meeting was set for August 14. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  At present there is no way to tell whether this initial 
undertaking will produce the results hoped for by the local 
Matamoros participants.  However, from the perspective of 
fomenting great cooperation and closer ties between posts in 
Mission Mexico and at least one major Mexican labor 
federation the meeting in Matamoros got things off to an 
extremely promising start.  If this pilot initiative succeeds 
it could well serve as a model for expanded labor union and 
USG cooperation on other issues and with other Mission Mexico 
posts and add a new and practical element to the overall 
mission goal of promoting increased US/Mexico cross border 
cooperation. 
 
¶13.  This message was cleared with AmConsul Matamoros. 
 
 
 
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