VZCZCXRO6968
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHM RUEHHO RUEHJO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHPOD
RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #5934/01 3311528
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271528Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9655
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 005934 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/AHH AND ILCSR, WHA/MEX, USDOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EAGR SOCI PGOV PINR MX
SUBJECT: SONORA BRANCH OF FARM WORKERS UNION IS PLEASED 
WITH ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The Hermosillo office of the CNC (National 
Peasants Confederation) in the northwestern Mexican state of 
Sonora is a farm workers union that is making a positive 
difference in the lives of persons employed in the various 
sectors of Mexico,s agricultural industry.  The CNC,s 
Hermosillo office has negotiated collective bargaining 
contracts that establish standardized wages for all workers 
employed in the state,s agricultural industries regardless 
of whether or not they are members.  It has established a 
close and cooperative relationship with growers (employers) 
and it is working with progressive businessmen in this group 
to promote an agriculture version of the type of corporate 
responsibility initiatives commonly used in many 
manufacturing industries.  At present the Hermosillo CNC,s 
highest priority is to have agricultural workers enrolled in 
Mexico,s Social Security system.  Getting growers and the 
GOM to work out the terms of this enrollment will not be 
easy.  If accomplished it would allow agricultural workers 
access to Mexico,s national health system and ultimately to 
accrue retirement/pension benefits.  The Hermosillo CNC is 
one of the few organizations involved in Mexican agriculture 
that is not critical of NAFTA; and in fact sees the free 
trade agreement in fairly positive terms.  Regular contact 
with this union could provide solid examples of how NAFTA has 
benefited Mexican agriculture and would allow the USG to 
factually rebut those who routinely criticize the free trade 
agreement.   END SUMMARY. 
 
 
AN UPBEAT FARM WORKERS UNION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  On November 6, Mission Mexico Labor Counselor and 
AmConsul Hermosillo,s Labor Watcher visited the main offices 
of the Sonora branch of the National Peasants Confederation 
(CNC).  The Sonora division of the CNC is formally known as 
the &State Union of Workers of the Agriculture, Cattle, 
Aquaculture Industries and Services of Sonora "Salvador 
Alvarado".  The CNC itself is a national organization of 
small to medium farmers and agro-industry workers dedicated 
to promoting the interests of these segments of Mexico,s 
agricultural industry.  The CNC is formally a part of the PRI 
(Institutional Revolutionary Party), Mexico,s former ruling 
political party, and nationally its activities are often 
evenly divided between the promoting the political interests 
of the party working to improve conditions for small farmers 
and farm workers. 
 
¶3.  The Hermosillo office of the CNC operates in the 
northwestern Mexican state of Sonora.  The Sonora CNC has 
4,000 permanent members/workers but it also represents and 
negotiates on behalf of some 30,000 seasonal workers employed 
during the state,s various harvest times.  The Hermosillo 
CNC negotiates with the state,s Association of Agricultural 
Producers of Sonora, an organization of growers and 
agro-industrialists who employ farm laborers.  The Hermosillo 
CNC appears to have an excellent relationship with the 
growers, association and in fact some of its representatives 
were present at the November 6 meeting.  The overall tone of 
this meeting was buoyant and both the Hermosillo CNC and the 
growers, association representatives seemed eager to show 
Mission Mexico personnel their close working relationship and 
to underscore what they jointly accomplished to improve 
working conditions for the farm laborers throughout the state. 
 
 
FARM WORKERS, COLLECTIVE BARGAING CONTRACT 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  Both the Hermosillo CNC and the growers, association 
proudly discussed the terms of a farm workers, collective 
bargaining contract; a copy of which they shared with Mission 
Mexico personnel.  The contract establishes a minimum wage 
and benefits package for all persons employed as agricultural 
laborers throughout the state of Sonora regardless of whether 
or not they were formal permanent members of the state CNC. 
The need for a collective bargaining contract with state wide 
coverage became immediately clear once the Hermosillo CNC 
explained that during the harvest season a large number of 
seasonal workers either travel to or are imported into the 
state to help bring in the crops.  The statewide contract 
ensures a basic salary and benefits package for all 
 
MEXICO 00005934  002 OF 003 
 
 
agricultural workers and discourages any attempts by less 
scrupulous individuals to try and undercut wages by importing 
workers from the poorer parts of Mexico outside the state. 
 
¶5.  The current collective bargaining contract for farm 
laborers prevailing throughout the state of Sonora 
establishes a minimum wage of 117.42 pesos per day (USD 
10.87).  This amount is more than twice the official daily 
minimum wage in Mexico which is roughly equivalent to USD 
5.00 and compares favorably to garment factory workers in the 
central Mexican state of Puebla, some of whom earn as little 
as the equivalent of USD 9.78.  Both the Hermosillo CNC and 
the growers, association representatives were eager to point 
out that individual workers and free to try and negotiate 
higher salaries with potential employers but that it was 
illegal for any laborer in the state to be paid less than 
amounts established in the collective bargaining contract. 
 
¶6.  In addition to a minimum daily wage for agricultural 
laborers in Sonora the current collective bargaining contract 
also makes provisions for overtime payments when employees 
are required to work on Sundays and establishes a higher 
minimum daily wage of skilled workers such as tractor 
drivers, mechanics and heavy vehicle drivers.  The contract 
also has some (modest) profit sharing provisions and for 
permanent CNC members/workers and for certain longer-term 
seasonal workers, a mechanism for paying Christmas bonuses. 
Permanent CNC members/workers are also entitled to employer 
paid life insurance benefits. 
 
 
THE NEXT STEP FOR SONORA,S CNC 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  The Hermosillo office of the Sonora CNC was obviously 
pleased with what it has accomplished so far for agricultural 
workers in the state.  Now that the Sonora office had 
negotiated what it considered to be a fair collective 
bargaining contract it was preparing to focus on a new and 
undoubtedly a more far-reaching goal.  According to the 
Secretary General of the Hermosillo CNC, Trindad Sanchez 
 
SIPDIS 
Leyva, the next step for the union was to work with the GOM 
and the state,s growers association to establish a method 
for fully enrolling agricultural workers into Mexico,s 
Social Security system.  Enrollment in this system would 
allow farm laborers and their families access to Mexico,s 
national health care system and enable these workers to begin 
to accrue retirement/pension benefits. 
 
¶8. Enrolling agricultural workers in Mexico,s Social 
Security system would significantly improve living conditions 
for these laborers.  Unfortunately, the high cost and 
bureaucratic complexity for employers of enrolling their 
employees in the system it often cited by businessmen a being 
one of the major obstacles to job creation in Mexico.  A 
significant number of employers in Mexico go to great lengths 
to avoid the cost and difficulty of enrolling their employees 
in the country,s social security system.  Moreover, many who 
do enroll their employees under report the workers, by a 
considerable amount in order to lower their own financial 
liabilities.  Given the relatively modest salaries of farm 
laborers in Sonora there would be little real incentive for 
agro-businessmen to substantially under report their wages. 
Nevertheless, paying into social security for their laborers 
in not something employers have had to do in the past and in 
all likelihood they will resist taking on this added expense 
of doing business. 
 
 
AGRO-INDUSTRY CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  Although getting agro-employers to enroll their employees 
in Mexico,s Social Security system may still be something 
for the future, the Hermosillo office of the CNC is already 
working with the state,s growers, association to develop an 
agriculture version of the type of corporate responsibility 
initiatives commonly used in many manufacturing industries. 
This initiative is still relatively new and the idea of this 
type of corporate responsibility is not yet universally 
accepted as something that can or should be done by the 
agro-employers.  Nevertheless, the representatives of the 
growers, association present at the November 6 meeting 
 
MEXICO 00005934  003 OF 003 
 
 
unequivocally affirmed that developing and implementing a 
corporate responsibility initiative was something his 
organization was committed to doing.  The first tentative 
steps the growers are taking are in the areas of improved 
housing (for out of state laborers) and subsidized meals for 
farm laborers.  No specific information was provided on what 
follow-on steps the growers might take but fact that they 
have thought about and committed their organization to 
carrying out such an initiative is significant. 
 
 
NAFTA GOOD FOR SONORAN AGRICULTURE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  More often than not, when the topic of NAFTA comes up 
with most persons involved with Mexican agriculture the 
comments one is likely to hear are uniformly negative. 
However, this was definitely not the case in Sonora.  The 
Sonora CNC did not see NAFTA as imposing some type of unfair 
competition on Mexican agriculture.  From their perspective, 
NAFTA has increased demand for agricultural products produced 
in Sonora by facilitating the flow of goods.  As a result, 
growers in the state have expanded their production and this 
has created additional jobs for farm laborers.  The Secretary 
General of the Hermosillo CNC repeatedly told Mission Mexico 
personnel that his union was fully sportive of NAFTA. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  The visit of Mission Mexico personnel to the Hermosillo 
office of the CNC was unquestionably a very positive first 
step in establishing contacts with this sector of organized 
labor in northwestern Mexico.  The Sonora CNC clearly appears 
to be setting an example for how cooperative relations with 
agro-employers can improve working conditions for farm 
laborers.  The Hermosillo CNC is also one of the few 
organizations involved in Mexican agriculture that is not 
critical of NAFTA; and in fact sees the free trade agreement 
in fairly positive terms.  Regular contact with this union 
could provide solid examples of how NAFTA has benefited 
Mexican agriculture and would allow the USG to factually 
rebut those who routinely criticize the free trade agreement. 
 
¶13.  This message was cleared with AmConsul Hermosillo. 
 
 
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