USW Women of Steel are raising funds to help the women of Cananea, Mexico, who are supporting striking miners and fighting an anti-worker, anti-union government. Click here for more.

Some 1,200 members of Mexico's National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union, or Los Mineros, have been on strike since July 2007 at the Cananea mine over health and safety and other contract violations.

Grupo Mexico, the mining giant which operates Cananea, and the Mexican government have continuously tried to end the strike and crush the union. The government of Mexico has threatened and jailed union leaders, illegally frozen union bank accounts and failed to investigate or prosecute assassinations of union members.

On February 11, a federal court gave Grupo Mexico permission to fire the striking workers and terminate the labor agreement, effectively eliminating the right to strike in Mexico. The Mexican government has threatened to use armed force to gain control of Cananea. The Los Mineros members at Cananea are resolved to continue occupying the mine until a fair labor agreement is reached. Los Mineros is one of the strongest and most democratic trade unions in Mexico. 

Click here to sign a petition in support of the miners. And again, click here to support the Women of Steel fundraising effort.