Dear Friends,
Please send a fax or e-mail to German sportswear company Puma today to urge them to take immediate action to support workers at their Mexican contract facility. Workers at Matamoros Garment, located in the Mexican state of Puebla, are currently on strike after working for three weeks without pay. They have decided to form their own independent union. It is urgent that the Matamoros workers receive our support now, as they try to exercise their right to organize and demand the rights they are entitled to under Mexican law.

Background information

MEXICAN GARMENT WORKERS STRIKE AT PUMA FACTORY

source: Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador (CAT) in Puebla, Mexico [Worker Support Center]

Monday, January 13, 2003 After working for over three weeks with no pay, in violation of Mexico's labor laws, 190 of the 250 active workers of Matamoros Garment initiated a wildcat strike this morning. Workers complain that the factory, located in the central state of Puebla in Mexico, has forced them to work many hours of overtime, locked them in the factory, and signed a "protection" contract with a "sweetheart" union, denying the workers freedom of association.

Garment factories in the state of Puebla captured much attention after workers at the Kukdong (now Mexmode) factory staged a similar strike in 2001. These workers eventually ousted the FROC-CROC, the sweetheart union also involved in Matamoros Garment, and formed the first worker-controlled garment union in the state. The FROC-CROC is a worker federation with strong ties to Puebla state government. The FROC-CROC has often been accused of not representing workers adequately.

Puebla is the state with the most garment workers in a country that is the number one exporter of garments to the U.S. Over 100,000 people make clothes in Puebla, also famous as the "FTAA Capital", as the site of FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) negotiations. In contrast to the economic success of the garment industry in the state are stark labor conditions and state authorities that are notorious for their willingness to use heavy-handed repression against labor movements, including assaulting the workers with riot police and issuing arrest warrants for leaders. Two years ago, a similar demand by Matamoros Garment for back pay ended when police raided the peacefully protesting workers, leaving a number of wounded workers. Many participating workers were then locked out and never paid.

Matamoros Garment is a U.S.-owned factory that produces uniforms for restaurants and hospitals in the U.S. under the Angelica label, and sports apparel for the German corporation Puma. The factory employed over 1,000 workers at its peak, but most workers have recently left the factory frustrated with worsening working conditions, including late payment of wages. The workers suspect that these practices are being implemented to have workers resign, rather than being fired, which would require the company to pay severance.

Letter from Matamoros Garment workers
(translated by CAT): January 13, 2003, Matamoros, Puebla

We, the workers of the company Matamoros Garment S.A. de C.V., have decided to stop work due to the following irregularities:

1. [Owed] Payment of 3 weeks and a half back wages
2. Unhealthy cafeteria
3. Forced overtime
4. Denial of freedom [locked in the factory]
5. No right to freedom of association
6. Verbal abuse
7. Lack of transportation

For this reason, we need international solidarity and the solidarity of the different organizations that support labor and worker's rights.

Sincerely,

the workers who work for the brands Puma and Angelica

[Signatures of elected workers' committee]

ACTION REQUEST

Call or e-mail PUMA today -- tell them:

1) Puma must send someone to the factory immediately to investigate the situation. Remind them that the rights violations reported at Matamoros are violations of Mexican law and the Puma code of conduct. They should demand that management pay workers the wages they are owed and recognize and negotiate with the union.

2) Closing this factory or shifting work to another maquiladora with bad working conditions is not the answer and only punishes the workers who are demanding justice. Instead, Puma should make sure that their current contractor improves workplace conditions and treats their workers with dignity.

3) Puma must immediately inform the striking workers and management that Puma supports workers' right to freedom of association. Managment must cease all undue pressure against union leaders.

Contact information:

Dr. Reiner Hengstmann
Global Head Environmental & Social Affairs
PUMA AG
Germany
Tel: +49-9132-81-2398
Fax: +49-9132-81-2281
e-mail: reiner.hengstmann@puma.com