(more info on this case) (!! Note that Kukdong changed it's name to Mex Mode)

Dear Friends,
Please find an important update (prepared by the Campaign for Labor Rights) on the case of Kuk Dong, the Mexican facility that produces for Nike and Reebok. Important because the independent union has officially been recognized and a collective bargaining agreement has been signed. (Note that the company is now called Mex Mode). Various organizations throughout the CCC network participated in this campaign. But we shouldn't close the book on this case yet. It is important that the companies sourcing at the factory at the time of the labor dispute continue to place their orders there now that an independent trade union has been established. Contact Nike and Reebok to request that they demonstrate their commitment to workers rights by continuing to do business with their contractor. See the sample letter in the CLR update below.

CLR Labor Alert posted September 26, 2001

In this Alert:
1. Breakthrough in Mexico: Kukdong Workers Win Independent Union
2. Continued Support for Mex Mode Workers

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BREAKTHROUGH IN MEXICO:
KUK DONG WORKERS WIN INDEPENDENT UNION

Workers at the Kuk Dong factory in Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico have finally won their independent union and a signed collective agreement. This is a precedent-setting victory that could open the door to worker organizing in Mexico's maquiladora sector where, to date, independent unions have not been tolerated.

On September 21, a new collective agreement was signed by the company, which has changed its name to Mex Mode, and the independent union, now known as SITEMEX.

That same day the contract was filed with the Puebla Conciliation and Arbitration Board, and the union was granted its legal registration. Of the 450 workers currently employed at the factory, 399 signed the application for the independent union.

The workers had formerly been "represented" by the FROC-CROC, an "official" labor federation linked to the Puebla State government and Mexico's historical ruling party, the PRI. On August 31, an agreement was reached between all parties involved in the dispute recognizing the independent union and terminating the "protection contract" between the company and the FROC-CROC.

The victory is the product of a difficult nine-month struggle by the workers for their right to be represented by the union of their choice. It could not have been possible without the coordinated support provided by the Workers Support Center (CAT) in Mexico, Students Against Sweatshops groups in the US and Canada, labor organizations including the AFL-CIO and CLC, and solidarity groups including the US Labor Education in the Americas Project (US/LEAP), Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR), the Korean House for
International Solidarity, and the Maquila Solidarity Network.

You may remember CLR's July efforts to organize delegations to nearly 40 of the 45 Mexican Consulate offices in the US. Many thanks to those of you who organized or participated in those delegations in your communities! The letters you delivered to Consuls about the situation at Kukdong (now Mex Mode) were delivered to President Fox in diplomatic pouches from the US. The delegations are recognized as an important piece of the international pressure campaign in support of the workers' union.

Other organizations that played crucial roles in documenting worker rights violations at the factory and convincing major buyers such as Nike, Reebok and a number of US universities to intervene in support of the workers' right to freedom of association include the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), Verité, Mexican labor lawyer Arturo Alcalde, and Professor Huberto Juarez and students at the Autonomous University of Puebla.

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CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR MEX MODE WORKERS

This important victory will be a hollow one if the major buyers -- Nike and Reebok -- walk away from the factory and fail to live up to their commitment to resume and continue placing orders with Mex Mode. We urge you to help the workers consolidate their victory by writing to Nike and Reebok thanking them for the positive role they have played and strongly urging them to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to the right of workers to freedom of association by placing orders with Mex Mode.

Thanks to all the members and friends of MSN who responded to our many urgent action alerts with letters of support for the workers at Mex Mode, formerly Kuk Dong.

Sample Letter
(Please write your own, and send us a copy: CLRmain@afgj.org)

Vada Manager, Director, Global Issues Management
Nike Inc.
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97003-6433 USA
Fax: (503) 671-6300
E-mail: vada.manager@nike.com

Dear Mr. Manager:

I am writing to thank Nike for the positive role your company played in helping to ensure that workers' right to freedom of association at the Mex Mode factory, formerly known as Kuk Dong, in Atlixco, Mexico are respected.

I am very pleased to learn that the company and the local Mexican labor board have recognized the union of the workers' choice, and that the new union, SITEMEX, and Mex Mode have successfully negotiated a collective agreement.

I would strongly urge your company to demonstrate your ongoing commitment to the right of workers to freedom of association by not walking away from Mex Mode now that a fair resolution to the dispute has been achieved. Please make good on your commitment to the workers at Mex Mode by resuming and continuing to place orders with the factory.

I look forward to receiving word that your company is placing and will continue to place orders with Mex Mode as long as the workers' rights are respected.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)

Please adapt the above letter and send to:

Doug Cahn, Vice President, Human Rights Programs
Reebok
1895 J. W. Foster Boulevard
Canton, MA 02021 USA
Fax: 781-401-4806
Email: doug.cahn@reebok.com