IBEW Condemns Police Attack on Mexican
Electrical Workers Union
November 16, 2009
 The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has joined with unions around the world in condemning Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s anti-union assault on electrical workers at the Central Light and Power Company of Mexico.
In early October, President Calderón announced he was liquidating the state-run utility, which employs more than 40,000 workers represented by the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME). The SME is a frequent and vocal critic of Calderón’s pro-corporate economic policies, which have led many observers to question the president’s motives.
John Ackerman, professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told the Washington Post:
(T)he fact that (Calderón) has decided to go against the union that historically most clearly represents the achievements of union rights and the left in Mexico is very much a political decision.
On the evening of October 10, thousands of federal police seized nearly 100 power plants around Mexico City, forcibly evacuating employees, who were then terminated. Some workers reported being roughed up by police.
Said International President Edwin D. Hill:
The use of police to forcibly remove workers from their place of employment for the express purpose of smashing their union violates every known international standard of collective bargaining and workplace rights. Calderón’s actions say a lot about the status of workers in Mexico today.
Under Calderón, the government has also used force against other labor unions, including the miners and metalworkers unions.
Said Hill:
We were sold NAFTA in this country on the promise that Mexican workers would have the right to freely collectively bargain and organize. Recent events have proven this to be a myth.
The Electrical Workers Union is calling on the government to reverse its decree liquidating the utility and for it to remove federal police from company premises.
The SME is also calling on unions around the world to rally to its support.
To write a letter to the Mexican government in support of the electrical workers, click here.
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