On May 29, USW members rallied outside the 5th Mexico Gas Summit in San Antonio to call on Grupo Mexico and its subsidiary ASARCO to stop attacks on workers and negotiate in good faith for a fair contract.
Leaders from USW Locals 886, 915, 5252 and 937 in Arizona and 5613 in Amarillo, Texas were joined by USW members and staff from District 13, including locked out members from Local 13-1 at Dow Deer Park, and leaders from the AZ and TX AFL-CIO to call out Grupo Mexico in front of their customers, competitors and partners at the summit.
Eight international unions, including the five USW locals, represent about 2,000 employees at five ASARCO copper mining and processing facilities in Arizona and Texas. They are in tough contract negotiations with the company and have been working under the terms of an expired agreement since late last year. Management has dragged out the process by failing to negotiate in good faith and demanding unfair and unnecessary concessions from workers.
Grupo Mexico has a long history of workers’ rights abuses and environmental issues in both Mexico and the U.S., through its subsidiary ASARCO. Our actions at the Gas Summit sent a clear message to the company that we are united for a fair contract and fair treatment of workers!
¡Ya basta! Enough is enough!