Members of the National Independent Democratic Union of Agricultural Workers (Sinja) reported that workers in the San Quintin Valley of Baja California are being harassed by company unions to force them to sign with their "charro and protectionist" organizations, and try to deceive them by telling them that they got increases wage while making them sign blank contracts.
MV Note: Sinja was formed and became a legally recognized union in January 2016 as a result of ongoing strikes and protests last year by day farmworkers in the San Quintin Valley, a leading producer of strawberries, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables for export to the U.S. In an agreement brokered by the federal government, the state of Baja California and agribusiness employers agreed to raise daily pay to 150 up to180 pesos [US$9.56 to US$11.47], depending on the size of the employing business.
"Charros" are fancily dressed "cowboys", hence the term is used to designate persons or organizations that pretend to serve their members but actually serve the interests of those in power.In a report submitted to the National Union of Workers (UNT) [with which the farmworkers affiliated in July of last year], union representatives say they see there is a whole program against their independent union in the region. Employers are in alliance with the Confederation of Workers of Mexico (CTM) and the Mexican Regional Workers Confederation (CROM) to pressure workers to join them, threatening to fire them and without delivering to them copies of the contracts they sign. [MV Note: These unions have professed to represent the farmworkers in the past.]. The union rejected this strategy being used against more than 80,000 farmworkers in the area,
The representatives also reported that the company Berrymex, which is one of the largest in the region and partner of the transnational company Driscoll, gives an increase to workers so that their salaries reach 225 pesos a day; other companies increased pay to 200 pesos a day as a strategy to say that they hve already fulfilled the agreements reached with the farmworkers.
"They are deceptions for the workers; they want to disguise the problem."However, they added that they are exposing these lies and will make visible the labor exploitation that exists in Baja California. They announced that on March 17 they will commemorate the first anniversary of work stoppage that made visible the conditions of modern slavery in which day farmworkers live. The farmworkers will carry out a caravan around the San Quintin region and hold the first "Grand Meeting of the Two Californias", which will bring together Mexican farm workers from both sides of the border [U.S. farmworker unions have actively supported the San Quintin organization].
Union representatives said there is pressure on workers not to participate in the anniversary of the strike in San Quintin, however, [opponents] will not be able to stop the mobilization. They called for defending Sinja, which "cost us blood, tears jail and jail", and whose contract has to be pushed in the region in order to put aside the protectionist unions. Spanish original
See more articles on the history of the San Quintin farmworkers