Friends,
In the past few weeks, the struggle for justice at the Kukdong
factory in
Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico has moved forward quietly, as workers
have
officially formed an independent union, SITEKIM, have petitioned
the local
authorities for legal recognition, and are asking workers who
support the
effort to affiliate. Seeing this on the horizon, we reported
weeks ago of
the distinct possibility of a campaign of intimidation and
violence being
launched against SITEKIM supporters. While it appears that
the FROC CROC,
the illegitimate union chosen by Kukdong management to represent
the workers,
is beginning its terror campaign, basic steps to help avert such
violence --
such as dismissing the current security chiefs at the fachave been
called for
repeatedly in the past few months and ignored. This report
on recent
developments is forwarded from the Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador
in Mexico.
Contact information for Nike and Kukdong follows.
---------------
United Students Against Sweatshops
1015 18th Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
202 NO SWEAT (202.667.9328)
fax/202 822 1199
Kukdong Update May 16th, 2001
DESPITE HEAVY SCRUTINY AND "GOOD WILL" OF LABELS AND
COMPANY, VIOLENCE AND
HARASSMENT PREVAIL AT KUKDONG AS CROC BEGINS TERROR CAMPAIGN
1. Independent union leader beaten by CROC supporters and then
punished by
Kukdong employee
2. CROC offers money to workers to resign SITEKIM
3. Security chief and head of human resources heavily involved in
continuing
violence and harassment against workers at Kukdong.
1. INDEPENDENT UNION LEADER BEATEN BY CROC SUPPORTERS, AND THEN
PUNISHED BY
KUKDONG EMPLOYEE
On May 15th, SITEKIM leader Ivan Diaz Xolo was assaulted outside
the
factory's new cafeteria by three CROC supporters. According to
Diaz, "Julio
[Garcia Gil] walked to me and hit me in the face with a water
bottle. I took
a step back and I realized that two other individuals, Israel AKA
"El Veneno"
[Israel Espinoza Corona] and Adalberto AKA "El Puebla"
[Alberto Alarcon
Velez] were hitting me on the back, so I ducked and covered my
face and chest
with my arms and did not answer back because I knew I could be
fired for
this, so I did not do anything else." Diaz suffered no
injuries other than
scratches and bruises. Other workers present have corroborated
Diaz's version.
According to Kukdong workers, Julio Garcia had previously been
fired for
misconduct in the factory and was readmitted after the work
stoppage. Israel
Espinoza is a CROC steward in the cutting department. According to
the
testimony of several workers, both Israel Espinoza and Alberto
Alarcon have
received money from CROC representative Jose Luis Ruiz.
The negligence and complicity of company officials in this
incident is
evident in that security chose not to intervene during the
incident (even
though Hugo de la Peņa, head of human resources, subsequently
told Ivan Diaz
that one person from security had witnessed the incident). When
Diaz and
other witnesses attempted to enter the management offices to
denounce the
attack, they were denied access to the by security personnel.
Later on that
morning, Diaz was called into the offices and Hugo de la Peņa,
human
resources chief at Kukdong, alleged that Ivan had provoked Israel
Espinoza,
and that the incident had been a fight between both individuals.
According
to De la Peņa, this version was given to him by two
witnesses, whose names
he never mentioned. The attack occurred in front of a crowd of
workers, yet
none of the base workers present during the incident were called
to give
their versions of the incident. Subsequently, Hugo de la Peņa,
allegedly
acting on orders from above, suspended both Ivan and Israel
Espinoza for a
week.
The precedent of Kukdong allowing the CROC to beat up workers on
premises and
then punish the individuals beaten is a threat to the physical
integrity of
all workers at Kukdong who have opposed the CROC, as well as
another attack
on the ability of workers to freely choose their union
representation. While
it is not clear that higher management was involved in handling
this
situation, it is clear that management must take strong measures
to prevent
this kind of incident from occurring again. If the incident is
left
unpunished, it will be an encouragement for the CROC to assault
independent
union supporters. Already, many workers have expressed fear of
being attacked
for supporting SITEKIM.
2. CROC OFFERS MONEY TO WORKERS TO RESIGN SITEKIM
According to several workers who have approached Centro de Apoyo
al
Trabajador, the CROC union representative at Kukdong has been
offering money
to SITEKIM members and others to oppose the independent union.
Martin Perez
Casquera, a Kukdong worker affiliated to SITEKIM, denounces that
on May 2nd,
Jose Luis Ruiz, the CROC representative at Kukdong, offered him
500 pesos (50
US) for every person in SITEKIM that he brought to him who was
willing to
sign a document disowning SITEKIM. Perez was also offered
100 pesos every
week, which he accepted because of need and because he felt that
the money
were the union dues that he has been paying the CROC against his
will.
"I am conscious that by receiving this money he [CROC
representative Jose
Luis Ruiz] may force me to do something I should not do, like beat
up my co-
workers or other actions that may occur to him. Through this
document I make
Jose Luis Ruiz, representative of the CROC at Kukdong responsible
for
anything that happens to me or my family," Perez wrote. The
testimony that
Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador obtained from Perez may place
him under
considerable risk to his personal integrity, especially in light
of the
beating of Ivan Diaz.
Perez also confirmed the version of workers that others in the
factory have
been accepting this money, including the assailants of Ivan Diaz.
While Mexican Federal Labor Law does not contemplate sanctions
against bribes
in a union election, this situation clearly impedes a fair and
free election
from happening in Kukdong. Kukdong is under no legal or
contractual
obligation to facilitate office space for the CROC to carry out
its
operations within the factory, and it is becoming apparent that
the presence
of CROC representative Jose Luis Ruiz in the facility may
seriously
jeopardize the safety of workers and their right to freedom of
association.
This is especially true in light of the preferential treatment
granted to the
CROC, since it is allowed to have office space within the facility
and call
meetings with workers.
3. SECURITY CHIEF RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTINUING HARASSEMENT OF
WORKERS IN KUKDONG
On Tuesday, May 8, Elytania Baez Gonzalez, a sewing line
supervisor at
Kukdong lost 400 pesos of her own property. After reporting to
company
officials that she lost the money, she and others were called into
the
security booth at the main entrance. There, Alberto Cedano, head
of security
at Kukdong accused Baez of "self-robbery."
Security personnel under orders
from Cedano frisked the workers and then had a female security
employee to
strip search them. While the reason for this attack is not clear,
Baez and at
least another person involved were actively involved in the work
stoppage and
have strongly opposed the CROC union.
Alberto Cedano has been previously involved in several other
incidents of
violence and harassment against workers. Josefina Morastitla, a
worker at
Kukdong, reported that Cedano roughly grabbed her by the arms and
shoved her
out of the way the on January 9th, during the work stoppage. State
television
broadcast footage of her displaying the bruises caused by
Cedano later that
day.
Workers returning to the factory on the week of January 15th
reported Cedano
intimidating workers involved in the stoppage by telling
them that they
better be careful because he was going to be watching them.
Workers also
reported that Cedano and Jose Luis Ruiz, the CROC union
representative would
exchange lists and consult with each other to decide which workers
could come
back to work and which could not.
Dolores Diaz, a former worker at Kukdong, also reports being
assaulted by
Cedano on Wednesday, January 31st. As Diaz was trying to
return to work in
the factory, Cedano called Jose Luis Ruiz, the CROC union
representative, and
they consulted a list in a notebook. They then decided for her
that she
had "come in to resign", without giving her a chance to
speak to management.
Cedano then pushed Diaz, grabbed her by the arm, and physically
removed her
from the factory. Diaz expressed that she will not return to the
factory
becasue she feels that Cedano is a threat to her physical
integrity,
especially since Diaz is pregnant.
Cedano and Hugo de la Peņa were also involved in fabricating a
written
warning issued on March 29 against SITEKIM Secretary General
Marcela Muņoz
for an alleged incident in which she discussed the independent
union with
other workers during work hours. Cedano, who was not even near the
site where
the incident allegedly occurred, listed himself as a witness to
this incident.
On another occasion, Hugo de la Peņa threatened Marcela Muņoz
with dismissal
of her "and the others behind her" if SITEKIM literature
continued to be
distributed within the factory.
Cedano's and De la Peņa's continued presence in the factiry,
given his
history of violence, harassment and arbitrary treatment,
constitutes a threat
to the physical and mental integrity of the workers at Kukdong. In
addition,
his collaboration with the CROC union creates a climate that
unfairly favors
the CROC union.
The actions that Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador suggests are that
people in
the US contact Nike, Reebok, and Kukdong and demand the following:
1. That Jose Luis Ruiz be expelled from the factory. Ruiz is not
an employee
of Kukdong, and has not been designated by Collective Bargaining
Contract or
the workers as a representative. Furthermore, the company is under
no legal
or contract obligation to allow Ruiz to have an office at Kukdong
or access
to the facility. If a fair environment is to be created at
Kukdong, and
further violence prevented, it is essential that his access to the
facility
be denied.
2. That CROC supporters involved in the violence against Ivan Diaz
be
severely and publicly reprimanded by the company in order to
prevent further
outbursts of violence.
3. That Alberto Cedano and Hugo de la Peņa be immediately
dismissed for their
continuing misconduct and that remedial measures be taken to
further prevent
this type of conduct by other employees.
------------
Dusty Kidd
Global Director for Labor Practices
Nike Corporation
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97003
Phone: (503) 671-6453
Fax: (503) 532-0440
Email: Dusty.Kidd@nike.com
Amanda Tucker
Senior Labor Practices Manager
Nike, Inc.
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97005
503-532-0311
Email: amanda.tucker@nike.com
Kukdong International Mexico S.A. de C.V.
Retorno de Ave. Continentes Num. 38
Rancho Los Soles
Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico
Tel: 011-52-244-61020~3
Fax: 011-52-244-61024
Email: kukdong.@rpc.com.mx
Kukdong Corporation (Korea)
Kukdong Building 229-3 Young Dap-Dong
Sungdong-Ku, Seoul, Korea
Tel: (02) 3407-7701~7905
Fax: (02) 2249-5915
2243-7776
email: kukdong@kd.co.kr