Traditional Unions and the Mexican Maquiladoras: Dispute and Fragmentation
The first maquiladoras were established in the border cities of Nogales, Tijuana, Matamoros, and Ciudad Juarez in the 1960s and 1970s. There was a power struggle among the principal worker organizations (CTM, CROC, and COROM) to obtain the right to represent the workers during this period. This struggle provoked at least two types of labor actions. The first was focused on worker contracts and the right to control internal labor conditions. Quintero associates this action with traditional labor unions. It is traditional union action and it has been very common in the city of Matamoros. The second type of action was the formation of ghost (white) unions or protection unions. The formation of these organizations was in direct …show more content…
This has created a more diverse labor picture. In Jalisco, labor union participation dates back to the 1920s with the Confederación Obrera de Jalisco (COJ) (Worker Confederation of Jalisco). Membership consisted of miners, textile workers and electricians. Years later, la Federación de Trabajadores de Jalisco (FTJ) (The Worker Federation of Jalisco) would be formed due to an internal split. Currently, this organization is in crisis due to a lack of leadership and political will and internal divisions.
Because of the existence of independent labor unions, neither the CTM nor the CROC has been able to enjoy hegemony in states outside of the border region. We see a high degree of union dispersion and the co-existence of various unions along with company ones. We can identify three different tendencies. The first is the use of ghost or white unions to control worker contracts. Secondly, is the absence of union activity by express order of the companies that prefer to make individual employment contracts. Finally, we see the use of outsourcing employment agencies to hire maquiladora
The first maquiladoras were established in the border cities of Nogales, Tijuana, Matamoros, and Ciudad Juarez in the 1960s and 1970s. There was a power struggle among the principal worker organizations (CTM, CROC, and COROM) to obtain the right to represent the workers during this period. This struggle provoked at least two types of labor actions. The first was focused on worker contracts and the right to control internal labor conditions. Quintero associates this action with traditional labor unions. It is traditional union action and it has been very common in the city of Matamoros. The second type of action was the formation of ghost (white) unions or protection unions. The formation of these organizations was in direct …show more content…
This has created a more diverse labor picture. In Jalisco, labor union participation dates back to the 1920s with the Confederación Obrera de Jalisco (COJ) (Worker Confederation of Jalisco). Membership consisted of miners, textile workers and electricians. Years later, la Federación de Trabajadores de Jalisco (FTJ) (The Worker Federation of Jalisco) would be formed due to an internal split. Currently, this organization is in crisis due to a lack of leadership and political will and internal divisions.
Because of the existence of independent labor unions, neither the CTM nor the CROC has been able to enjoy hegemony in states outside of the border region. We see a high degree of union dispersion and the co-existence of various unions along with company ones. We can identify three different tendencies. The first is the use of ghost or white unions to control worker contracts. Secondly, is the absence of union activity by express order of the companies that prefer to make individual employment contracts. Finally, we see the use of outsourcing employment agencies to hire maquiladora