Collapse of Dignity Read online

  Praise for Collapse of Dignity

  “Collapse of Dignity is about one man’s quest to restore dignity in the mines of Mexico and in the minds of his fellow mineworkers. Napoleón Gómez’s story captures the struggle of the human spirit and the fight for freedom in today’s global economy.”

  —R. THOMAS BUFFENBARGER,

  International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

  “A riveting story about standing up to big corporations, Collapse of Dignity delivers a message for us all: We the People must force the global corporatocracy to serve us, the workers and consumers. The contrast between Chile and Mexico is a striking call to action.”

  —JOHN PERKINS,

  New York Times Bestselling Author

  of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and Hoodwinked

  “Collapse of Dignity is an unblinking and unnerving look inside our world’s labor struggle. Gómez’s incredible account of the fight for justice in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity is a warning, a lesson, and—ultimately—an impassioned call for international change. Essential reading for any working person.”

  —THOM HARTMANN,

  Author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

  “Napoleón highlights the importance of continuing the fight against greed and corruption in the workplace, realizing that each worker deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, especially those in mining, as the sector is inherently dangerous. As a former mineworker and loyal member of the National Union of Mineworkers for close to thirty years, this book is a revelation in detailing the continued social injustices in this sector. This book encourages all union leaders and workers around the globe to stand up against exploitation, bad working conditions, and low wages given by the owners of capital.”

  —FRANS BALENI

  General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers

  South Africa

  “Collapse of Dignity is an extraordinary, personal, and essential dispatch from the brutal frontlines of workers’ battle for rights in the face of corporate greed, government corruption, and the appalling neglect of the very lives and safety of Mexico’s miners.”

  —CARNE ROSS,

  Author of The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People

  Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century

  “Gómez writes with passion, intelligence, and vision from his own extraordinary personal experience. His story of the brutal and deadly conditions of work in Mexico’s mines and his sharp analysis of the global system that produces such inhumanity make this book essential for anyone who wants to understand how the global economy really works.”

  —JEFF FAUX,

  Founder of the Economic Policy Institute

  and Author of The Servant Economy

  “Collapse of Dignity is a powerful testimony to the attack by corrupt politicians and cynical businessmen to silence a union and its leader. Napoleón Gómez, leader of the mining and metalworkers’ union Los Mineros, gives a compelling account of the events that followed the industrial homicide at the Pasta de Conchos mine where sixty-five workers tragically lost their lives in February 2006. Gómez became the target of a vicious anti-union campaign in response to his loud and vocal demands for workers’ rights, decent wages, and safe working conditions. Collapse of Dignity is also a story about heroic workers, men and women, who refused to give up the fight for dignity and social justice. Mexico, with its vast natural and human resources, could easily provide prosperity for all its 115 million citizens. Instead the rich elite collude with political leaders to abuse, distort, and corrupt Mexican society at the expense of human rights and economic development that could benefit all. The global trade union movement continues to support this courageous fight for free and independent unionism in Mexico, and for a better life for all workers and their families. This is what we remain deeply committed to doing by mobilizing our forces all over the world.”

  —JYRKI RAINA,

  General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union

  Geneva, Switzerland

  “Injustice never stops until one person summons the courage to become a hero. Inhuman conditions never end until many join that hero and say ‘no more.’ This is the story of such a hero and those who answered his call.”

  —KEN NEUMANN,

  National Director for Canada of the United Steel Workers

  “Napoleón is a hero, because every day he fights for the lives and welfare of the Mexican workers and their families.”

  “As a coal miner and a union leader, I found Napoleón’s story of the Pasta de Conchos disaster both heartrending and infuriating. Everyone who cares about justice in the global economy should read this story about the heroic resistance of Mexican mineworkers.”

  —RICHARD TRUMKA,

  President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Relations

  AFL-CIO

  “Written with passion and honesty, Napoleón Gómez’s memoir reveals a deeply personal story about the struggle of the Mexican National Union of Mine Workers. Theirs has been an epic battle for the safety and wellbeing of miners and their families, for their dignity, and for justice against callous mining corporations and corrupt politicians. This drama, filled with tragedy and inspiring resilience, is a poignant allegory of globalization and power that should be read by union leaders and activists around the world.”

  —DANIEL KATZ,

  Dean of Labor Studies at the National Labor College

  Washington, DC

  “Collapse of Dignity is a story that had to be told. It’s a story of corruption, greed, intimidation, death, and abuse of power, but it’s also a story of courage, solidarity, and defying the odds. Napoleón Gómez is a patriot and his story is an inspiration to those fighting for a better, fairer world. Napoleón’s leadership is a case study in what global solidarity can achieve through intelligence, honesty and integrity. In the global labour movement there have been heroes that we celebrate for their leadership. Napoleón Gómez is a hero and my friend and brother.”

  —STEPHEN HUNT,

  Director of United Steelworkers District 3

  “One of the most important tools in order to create a sustainable Democracy is the organization of trade unions and the respect for mankind, in every open society. In order to create a difference, we need to have the courage to stand up for what is right and wrong. Reasonable working conditions are a prerequisite to any development of a global world and a necessary pillar in Democracy and welfare state.”

  —CAROLINE EDELSTAM,

  Co-Founder and Vice President of The Harald Edelstam Foundation Stockholm, Sweden

  COLLAPSE

  OF

  DIGNITY

  The Story of a Mining Tragedy and the

  Fight Against Greed and Corruption in Mexico

  NAPOLEÓN GÓMEZ

  BENBELLA BOOKS, INC.

  Copyright © 2013 by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title.

  ISBN 978-1-9395-2926-8

  BenBella Books, Inc., 10300 N. Central Expy, Ste 530, Dallas, TX 75231

  Printed by Bang Printing

  Distributed by Perseus Distribution

  perseusdistribution.com

  Jacket author’s photograph by: Tom Hawkings

  To the memory of Napoleón Gómez Sada, my father and inspiration; to my wife, Oralia, my partner and friend who stood with me unconditionall
y during this period of struggle; to my sons, for believing in me; to my brothers and sisters from labor unions around the world; to the brave and loyal members of our Union “Los Mineros;” to those who risk their lives working in unsafe conditions to provide for their families; and to all of those who stand for their beliefs.

  CONTENTS

  FOREWORD

  PROLOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ONE • THE SUCCESSION

  TWO • A NEW LEADER

  THREE • TOMA DE NOTA

  FOUR • THE EXPLOSION

  FIVE • IN THE MINE

  SIX • DEPARTURE

  SEVEN • THE RESISTANCE

  EIGHT • A LEGAL FARCE

  NINE • A GLOBAL WAR

  TEN • DASHED HOPE

  ELEVEN • PROOF OF CONSPIRACY

  TWELVE • SLANDER AND REDEMPTION

  THIRTEEN • THREE STRIKES

  FOURTEEN • THE OFFER

  FIFTEEN • A FAULTY BRIDGE

  SIXTEEN • THE LARREA BROTHERS GO MISSING

  SEVENTEEN • A NEW CASUALTY

  EIGHTEEN • THE TRICK

  NINETEEN • THE EXILE

  EPILOGUE

  INDEX

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  FOREWORD

  This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary man.

  —LEO W. GERARD

  This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary man. In its pages—part memoir, part history, part political critique—Napoleón Gómez Urrutia tells the story of the Mexican government’s war against the National Union of Mine, Metal, and Steelworkers of the Mexican Republic (Los Mineros) and of the union’s eight-year battle of resistance.

  The story begins with a terrible disaster—an explosion at the underground coal mine at Pasta de Conchos on the morning of February 19, 2006 that killed sixty-five men. As the story unfolds, we learn that the miners’ deaths were no accident, but rather the result of corruption and negligence on the part of the company, Grupo Mexico, and the government authorities. We see the events through the eyes of Mexican workers and their families as they confront the enormous power of the Mexican state at the service of a multinational mining company controlled by an avaricious billionaire.

  But we soon learn that there is more to the story. The workers at Pasta de Conchos turn out to be pawns in an evil campaign by Mexico’s ruling elite to destroy democratic labor unions in Mexico, starting with the Mineworkers led by Napoleón Gómez.

  Since the 1970s, the PRI and later the PAN governments have systematically sought to weaken organized labor and reduce labor costs to maintain Mexico’s low-wage, export-oriented economic model, enshrined in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1995. This policy has succeeded in increasing the wage gap between Mexico and the United States. Whereas in 1975 Mexican real wages of manufacturing workers stood at 23% of the US level, by 2007 they had dropped to 12%.

  The government and employers control the majority of labor organizations through the system of “protection unions,” which in Canada and the U.S. we call “company unions.” However, a small number of democratic unions have continued to resist government control and to demand higher wages and better living standards for their members.

  It is no accident that mineworkers would lead this resistance. Everywhere in the world—from the British miners’ strike in the 1970s to the Pittston strike in the U.S. to the National Union of Mineworkers’ leading the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa to the Ontario nickel mines where my own family labored—the courage and determination of mine workers has propelled them to the leadership of the labor movement. In Mexico, not only the labor movement but the Mexican Revolution itself began at the Cananea mine, which would again become a battleground in the first decade of the 21st century.

  Los Mineros refused to bow to the elites. Instead, they demanded wage increases proportional to company profits, improved health and safety protections, and elimination of subcontracting. In 2005, the union struck the Las Truchas steel mill in Lázaro Cárdenas for forty-six days, winning an increase of 8% in wages and 34% in benefits, plus a 7,250 peso bonus and 100% back pay. Clearly this was a threat to the neoliberal model.

  Napoleón tells us how President Vicente Fox and his advisers, working closely with giant mining companies, planned a coup against the democratically elected leadership of Los Mineros, including the derecognition of the union leadership, criminal and civil charges against Gómez and other union leaders, a massive public relations campaign funded by the companies, the imposition of company unions in many workplaces and support for traitors within the union—all backed by the use of armed force. These attacks took a terrible toll on Los Mineros rank and file, including the loss of four more lives at the hands of police and company goons.

  Yet despite this unprecedented attack by the entire might of the state and private capital, with their leader in forced exile in Canada, Los Mineros have not only survived but year after year have continued to win the highest wage increases of any union in Mexico (over 8% in average per year over the past seven years) and have organized thousands of new workers, while President Fox and his successor, Felipe Calderón, have landed in the rubbish bin of history. How is this possible?

  I think there are three reasons. First and foremost is the courage and tenacity shown by the members of Los Mineros in the face of great and sometimes deadly adversity. It is the workers of Pasta de Conchos, of Lázaro Cárdenas, who won their strike after being strafed from helicopters by police who killed two workers and injured dozens more; the workers of Cananea who maintained their strike even against an onslaught of 4,000 police and goons. It is Los Mineros leaders who spent years in jail on trumped-up charges rather than betray their union. It is the tenacity of Napoleón Gómez himself, who has continued to stand tall despite many threats against himself and his family.

  The second reason is the quality of the Mineros leadership. I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Napoleón and the members of his Executive Committee over the past decade, and I can truly say that this is a band of visionaries. Los Mineros are not afraid to use the strike weapon. But unlike any other union in Mexico, they calibrate their wage demands to the company’s profits, bargaining hard but always showing flexibility when a company is facing real difficulty. This is why—despite the ferocious attacks of the government and a few big mining companies—Los Mineros maintain good working relations with dozens of employers, both multinational and domestic. Los Mineros have also shown courage and creativity in launching campaigns to organize unorganized workers in mining and manufacturing, building alliances with rural communities and grassroots committees of industrial workers. They have challenged the government and Mexico’s corporatist unions on wage policy, accountability and union democracy. The union’s crack legal team has won battle after battle—most recently when the Mexican Supreme Court, in May 2012, ruled that the government’s refusal to recognize the result of the union’s elections was unconstitutional and violated Mexico’s commitment to uphold the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

  The third reason for the success of Los Mineros’ resistance is global solidarity. From the beginning of his leadership, Napoleón showed a commitment to strengthening his union’s international relationships and global trade union structures. This is why he pushed for affiliation to the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), which merged in 2012 to become IndustriALL, a global union of 50 million industrial workers—with Napoleón elected to the Executive Committee. This is why the global trade union movement responded by organizing delegations, campaigns, and global days of action to expose the Mexican government’s systematic violations of worker rights.

  Most important to my union, the United Steelworkers, Napoleón understood from the beginning that industrial workers in North America, faced with the NAFTA regime that seeks to drive down wages everywhere, can on
ly survive if we work together to build a single organization that can organize, bargain, and mobilize the political power of our members in Canada, Mexico and the United States. With this goal in mind, the USW and Los Mineros negotiated a strategic alliance in 2005, which was expanded and strengthened into a North American Solidarity Alliance in 2011. Today our organizations are engaged in continuous coordination in bargaining with common employers, organizing health and safety, education, economic policy and many other areas. Our members are meeting and marching and organizing and bargaining together in Michoacán and Indiana and Québec, Sonora and Arizona, Durango and Ontario, Hidalgo and Illinois, Coahuila and British Columbia. We are well on the way to our goal of a single organization harnessing the power of industrial workers throughout North America.

  All of this is a collective story told by working people, but it is also, distinctly, Napoleón’s story—the story of a genuinely modest man who did not seek power but, when the moment came, was determined to use all of his talent and capacity to exercise that power for the benefit of his members and workers everywhere. As well, it is the story of Napoleón’s wife, Oralia Casso de Gómez, who has stood shoulder to shoulder with her husband on behalf of the members of Los Mineros and the Mexican people as their family has endured threats and forced dislocation as they all fought for justice and workers’ rights.

  It was my honor to be in the room with Oralia when the AFL-CIO Executive Committee in 2011 presented Napoleón with the Meany-Kirkland Human Rights Award “for his courageous commitment to defend the aspirations of Mexican workers to higher living standards, to democratize labor unions, to promote rule of law and a better future for their country . . .”

  This is why Napoleón is, for me, a hero.

  And this is why anyone who cares about the future of working people should read and study this book.