23 June, 2010Approved and executed in Toronto, June 20, the joint declaration was signed by the Mexican Miners' Union (SNTMMSRM) and the United Steelworkers (USW) for a bilateral commission to be formed in order to define the process of unification of two unions.
CANADA: Los Mineros, the Mexican Miners' Union (SNTMMSRM), have been long persecuted by the Mexican federal government, they have fought and won real increases in wages but the Mexican government's policy of keeping wages low and workers suppressed in order to attract foreign investment has lead to numerous violations of their basic worker rights to organize, bargain collectively and strike. After signing a Strategic Alliance in 2005, on June 20, 2010 the UAW and Los Mineros have taken a step further to reinforce their struggle for workers in Mexico by strengthening their alliance.
Released in the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel at the teach-in "Building Solidarity with the Democratic Labor Movement in Mexico" organized by two global union federations IMF and ICEM in Canada, USW President Leo W. Gerard and Napoleon Gomez, general secretary for Los Mineros, jointly renewed the two unions commitment to democracy, equality and solidarity for working men and women throughout North America and throughout the world by signing a joint declaration announcing that they will form a "joint commission to define the process of creating a unified North American organization as well as explore possible global unification representing one million workers in Mexico, Canada, the United States and the Caribbean."
The "Building Solidarity with the Democratic Labor Movement in Mexico" teach-in held on June 20 in Toronto was an approach aimed to inform, educate, and build further solidarity with the democratic trade union movement in Mexico. This activity is part of a People's Forum that seeks to make the voices of working people heard at the G8/G20 meetings, which are taking place in Toronto the same week.