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DE RUEHME #5161/01 2682139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 252139Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8988
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2327
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 005161 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/AWR AND ILCST, WHA/MEX, WHA/EPSC AND USDOL FOR 
ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV PHUM PINR MX
SUBJECT: FORMATION OF A SECOND MINERS UNION UNDERSCORES 
MANY OF THE PROBLEMS OF ORGANIZED LABOR IN MEXICO 
 
REF: (A) MEXICO 1925 (B) 06 MEXICO 6655 AND PREVIOUS 
 
     (NOTAL) 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The ongoing saga of Mexico's national 
miners union (SNTMMSRM) took a significant but little 
noticed step in late 2006 when a dissident group of 
approximately 100 people within that labor organization 
formed a break-away union.  Because of the lead up to and the 
protracted challenge surrounding Mexico's 2006 presidential 
elections, the formation of this second miners union was 
largely overlooked until a few weeks ago.  In early September 
this new organization, the National Mine Exploration and 
Exploitation Workers Union of the Mexican Republic 
(SNEEBMRM), won control of several mining collective 
bargaining contracts in northern Mexico.  The SNEEBMRM 
victory over what had been the country's sole mining union 
was ratified via a hotly contested and closely monitored 
election in which mine workers held a voted to determine 
which union would be their recognized labor representatives. 
The electoral contest between the new miners union was only 
narrowly prevented from becoming violent when local police 
arrested a group of approximately 25 people armed with 
homemade bombs and various other weapons en route to a 
confrontation with their competitors.  The circumstances 
under which the election was held, its results (which are 
being legally contested), credible allegations that the GOM 
is not a neutral arbiter in this intra-union dispute, and the 
barely averted outbreak of violence were all systematic of 
the many problems currently facing organized labor in Mexico. 
END SUMMARY 
 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2.  In May of this year Mexican authorities temporarily 
reinstated Napoleon Gomez Urrutia as the leader of the 
National Miners Union, SNTMMSRM when increasing evidence 
indicated that charges against him for embezzling union 
pension funds were based on falsified documents.  This 
reinstatement was followed by a national SNTMMSRM convention 
on April 17, 2007, in which the deposed Gomez was then 
definitively reaffirmed as the leader of the Miners union. 
GOM authorities left open questions related to the ultimate 
validity of the embezzlement charges against Gomez for 
allegedly mishandling 55 million dollars in union pension 
funds; the exact whereabouts of the funds (last seen in the 
Canadian owned Scotia Bank), Gomez ongoing self-imposed 
exile in Canada to avoid other pending charges against him, 
or who to hold accountable for the apparently fraudulent 
documents that formed the basis for Gomez 2006 removal from 
office by the administration of then Mexican President 
Vicente Fox. 
 
¶3. Gomez mid-2006 removal as the leader of the miners union 
generated a considerable amount of interest and controversy 
in labor circles both within Mexico and internationally. 
Most of those within the rank and file of the Miners union, 
although certainly not all, continued to support Gomez even 
after he was deposed.  Moreover, many of Mexico's more 
established unions came out in support of Gomez.  On the 
other hand, the Congress of Labor (CT), Mexico's largest 
umbrella federation of labor unions, is divided over Gomez 
restoration to his leadership position despite the fact that 
the SNTMMSRN is a member of this coalition.  Internationally, 
the United Steelworkers unions (USW) in both the US and 
Canada strongly support Gomez.  The USW even filed a (now 
resolved) public submission on SNTMMSRN's behalf under the 
terms of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation 
(NAALC), a labor side agreement to NAFTA. In addition, Gomez 
also received considerable support from the International 
Metalworkers Federation. 
 
 
THE BIRTH OF A NEW MINERS UNION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. Gomez mid-2006 removal from leadership of the SNTMMSRN 
on apparently fraudulent charges prompted widespread strikes, 
random work stoppages, out-breaks of violence between Mexican 
 
MEXICO 00005161  002 OF 004 
 
 
authorities and striking miners and even two deaths. 
Overall, most of the rank and file of the National Miners 
Union supported Gomez Urrutia throughout his deposition and 
the related legal problems.  During the period of Gomez's 
apparently improper removal the National Miners Union was led 
by a long term rival, Elias Morales Hernandez.  At the time 
most local labor observers focused their attention on the 
rivalry between Gomez and Morales.  Little public notice was 
taken of a group of approximately 100 mine workers in 
northern Mexico who in late 2006 decided that they would 
rather not have either Gomez or Morales as their union 
leaders. 
 
¶5. This group of some 100 workers (Mexican Federal Labor Law 
permits the formation of a union with as few as 20 workers) 
decided to form a miners union of their own that was in no 
way connected to either Napoleon Gomez Urrutia or Elias 
Morales Hernandez.  The new organization formed by those 100 
mine workers became the National Mine Exploration and 
Exploitation Workers Union of the Mexican Republic 
(SNEEBMRM).  Prior to the formation of the SNEEBMRM, the 
National Miners Union led by Gomez was the only such labor 
entity  in Mexico.  From the time of its formation in late 
2006 until very recently the SNEEBMRM kept a low profile as 
it organized among miners in northern Mexico.  The results of 
this quiet organizing effort became shockingly evident to the 
union lead by Gomez when it found itself challenged to an 
intra/inter union election in late August.  To the surprise 
of the National Miners Union led by Gomez the new SNEEBMRM 
union won elections in eight different Secciones (Locals) in 
northern Mexico.  At issue was control of the collective 
bargaining contracts for slightly over 4000 miner workers. 
 
 
AUTHORITIES PREVENT OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Not surprisingly, the election to determine which union 
would represent the miners in northern Mexico was hotly 
contested.  This contest only narrowly avoided turning into a 
dramatically violent conflict when police authorities in the 
state of Coahuila were alerted to a planned attack by one 
group of miners against another.  It is not clear whether the 
attackers were associated with the National Miners Union or 
with the new SNEEBMRM union; media coverage of the events 
surround the planned attack provide conflicting information. 
 
¶7.  Initial reports stated that the potential attackers were 
identified as members Seccion 14 of the National Miners 
Union headed by Gomez.  For all practical purposes 
identifying the potential attackers as part of Seccion 14 was 
a meaningless exercise since the foiled attack took place 
before the election establishing the new SNEEBMRM union as 
the designated representative of the mine workers in 
Coahuila.  Prior to that election, all mining employees in 
Coahuila were members of and officially represented by the 
National Miners Union.  Moreover, the group in question was 
detained by the Coahuila police while reportedly in route to 
a union office building already controlled by the National 
Union.  No public explanation has been put forth as to why 
these men would want to attack the office building of the 
union they supported.  The only publicly available 
indisputable fact about the foiled attack is that the 
Coahuila police detained 25 men.  During the investigation 
surrounding the detention the police discovered 11 Molotov 
cocktails along with a wide assortment of clubs and homemade 
weapons. 
 
 
TYPICAL UNION ELECTION WITH ALL THE TYPICAL PROBLEMS 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8.  The vote to determine which union would represent the 
miners in northern Mexico was held on September 6 and took 
place at various mining operations in the states of 
Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora and San Luis Potosi.  The results 
of the vote, as reported in a variety of Mexican media 
outlets, was overwhelming (upwards of 96 percent) against the 
National Miners Union headed by Gomez and in favor of the 
new SNEEBMRM union. The actual voting procedures were typical 
 
MEXICO 00005161  003 OF 004 
 
 
for a union election in Mexico in that they in no way 
approximately anything remotely close to a secret ballot. 
 
¶9.  Miners who wanted to vote were required to first identify 
themselves before senior officials of the two competing 
unions and of the GOM's Labor Secretariat (STPS).  Once this 
was done miner then had to be certified as a current worker 
by a representative of the mining company.  Only after 
passing through this three step identification would the 
miner be allowed to cast a verbal vote to determine which 
union the worked wanted to serve as his/her representative. 
This lengthy process of public self-identification in which 
everyone knows instantly for whom a worker voted has been 
criticized as being open to easy intimidation and 
manipulation but it is the standard by all union elections in 
Mexico are conducted. 
 
 
LOSING UNION CRIES FOUL 
----------------------- 
 
¶10.  As soon as the stark results of the election were known 
the National MinersQ, Union immediately protested its loss 
and filed an appeal to have the election overturned.  At this 
point there appears to be little chance that the appeal will 
succeed since the procedures under which the SNEEBMRM won the 
election are exactly the same as the ones in place when 
Napoleon Gomez was reaffirmed as the Secretary General of the 
National Miners Union this past April.  That said, Gomez 
and his supporters can honestly say that it required roughly 
a year, numerous strikes and demonstrations, two deaths and 
international pressure before the National Miners Union was 
allowed to reaffirm him as its leader.  Reportedly, only 
eight days passed between the time the SNEEBMRM requested an 
election to challenge the National Miners Union and the 
date on which the election actually took place. 
 
¶11.  The National Miners Union has also argued that the 
STPS, the Federal Labor Board (roughly equivalent to the US 
National Labor Relations Board), and the Grupo Mexico mining 
company colluded to deny the workers a fair vote. The 
National Miners Union outlined a list of reasons that the 
election was illegitimate: 
 
- Of the 1,200 miners who might have voted, 900 unionized 
miners in Sonora were prevented from participating in the 
recuento,8 a process similar in some ways to a 
decertification and representation election in the United 
States. 
- At San Luis Potosi 15 miners were fired to prevent them 
from participating in the election and to intimidate other 
workers. 
- At Nueva Rostia, Coahuila, workers from the second shift 
were locked in the mine to keep them from voting. 
- At Nacozari, Sonora, the election took place after laying 
off 900 workers. 
- Grupo Mexico had brought charges against National Miners 
Union representatives for extortion in order to intimidate 
them. 
- At some locations police or soldiers were used to 
intimidate workers. 
- In all locations outside toughs were brought in to 
intimidate workers and the local population. 
- In some instances the company bribed workers with between 
USD 150 and USD 350 for each for their votes. 
 
¶12.  Following the union representation election, the 
National Miners Union (SNTMMRM) won a court decision 
reinstating 1,700 miners from in Sonora. The union says that 
the return to work of these miners invalidates the earlier 
election conducted in their absence.  At present there is no 
indication that the GOM intends to move forcefully to 
investigate the above allegations. Its position is that the 
appropriate labor authorities should be given the time needed 
review the allegations and process the pending appeal in 
accordance with established legal procedures. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
MEXICO 00005161  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶13.  The formation and apparently successful election of the 
new SNEEBMRM union as the representative of the workers in 
various mining operations is typical of many of the problems 
facing organized labor in Mexico.  Looked at from one 
perspective, the establishment of the new miners union can be 
seen as an example in Mexico of the right of free (labor) 
association.  When looked at differently the speed with which 
the union was registered and then allowed to then allowed to 
hold a decertification and representation election was in no 
way typical of the norm in Mexico; except when the 
challenging union has the tacit support of the GOM and or 
some influential interest group. 
 
¶14.  The procedures under which the SNEEBMRM/National 
Miners Union election were conducted were exactly the same 
as those employed nationwide for this type of balloting; in 
other words nothing different occurred during this election 
than normally happens in any union election in Mexico. 
Unfortunately, these standard election procedures easily lend 
themselves to worker intimidation and manipulation.  All of 
these elements are further complicated by the fact that the 
National Miners Union is one of the more combative (and 
some say corrupt) labor organizations in Mexico and its 
leader, Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, has yet to get a compelling 
accounting of what happened to the USD 55 million in union 
pension funds he is accused of embezzling.  Allegations of 
corruption, union busting, embezzlement, government failure 
to act as a neutral arbiter, threats of violence and flawed 
union election procedures were all part of the formation of 
the new National Mine Exploration and Exploitation Workers 
Union of the Mexican Republic (SNEEBMRM).  Unfortunately, all 
of these elements were also typical of what many average 
Mexican see as the established norm in the countryQ,s 
organized labor movement. 
 
¶15.  This cable was cleared by 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