Contact: Benjamin Davis (412) 562-2501, bdavis@usw.org
(Pittsburgh) -- United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard congratulated the Mexican mineworkers’ union Los Mineros and its leader, Napoleón Gómez, on its union election victory Feb. 21 at the El Coronel gold mine in Zacatecas.
“The workers of the El Coronel mine and their families have shown through courage and determination, and with the support of Napoleón Gómez and Los Mineros, democracy can triumph against the odds,” Gerard said.
The mine is owned by Grupo Frisco, which is controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
According to the election order issued by Mexico’s Federal Labor Conciliation and Arbitration Board on February 14, 776 employees were eligible to vote in the election, which pitted Los Mineros against two other unions. The Labor Board’s final tally showed Los Mineros winning 425 votes.
An independent team of international observers from unions and human rights NGOs that monitored the election reported that “the voting on Feb. 21 was conducted in a substantively fair and transparent manner, free of interference from the employer or government officials.”
Workers went out on strike last May 29 demanding profit-sharing payments and the removal of the union (affiliated to the national confederation CROC) that had been installed by the company.
Click here for a full summary report.
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors.
# # #