Sindicato de Trabajadores/Workers Union

[Guest PalapaGirl]

We have a property in Bucerias. We live in one unit and have 2 rental units. We have received papers from a local union that says we must join the union on behalf of our employees because we are a hotel. Apparently, almost every business, large & small in Bucerias has received the same notice. They demand that we appear at a meeting tomorrow to sign documents.

We have only a housekeeper who works one day per week. I spoke to her about this union and she said she was a member when she worked for a hotel. She said the only benefit from them is that they will support an employee in a pay dispute. Otherwise, they offer no benefits to the employee. She does not want to join, but I think she is afraid to sign a paper stating this. She said she had a problem with them in the past.

Today, we received a telephone call from the union on the landline of the house we are renting in Ajijic, saying that if we do not sign the papers tomorrow to join this union, they will protest [at] our house. First of all, I'm not sure how they found our number here at the rental - even our housekeeper does not have it.

We spoke to another businessman in Bucerias who says we should NOT sign, that they have no rights to protest our property and if they do, we can call the police to have them removed. He says this is not the correct way to begin a union in Mexico (he is a Mexican national).

We are seeking to retain an attorney to represent us in Labor Court in Tepic if it becomes necessary.

Has anyone had a similar experience? How was it resolved?

[Intercasa]

Unions here in Mexico are a big scam. Workers get paid for not working. I'd record all communications with them. They will try to get you to sign your rights away and then you'll be paying alot of money so the union fat cats can live well. Be careful.

I know friends who were teaching me about the teachers unions, when the teachers join they are paid right away but if there is no place for them that is ok, they start to earn money even without working. guess who will pay? you will pay and might not even have a worker. Let them protest, tell them you'll call the media and file a report with the MP for extortion.

[cookj5]

Unions here in Mexico are a big scam. Workers get paid for not working. I'd record all communications with them. They will try to get you to sign your rights away and then you'll be paying alot of money so the union fat cats can live well. Be careful.

I know friends who were teaching me about the teachers unions, when the teachers join they are paid right away but if there is no place for them that is ok, they start to earn money even without working. guess who will pay? you will pay and might not even have a worker. Let them protest, tell them you'll call the media and file a report with the MP for extortion.

In Mexico, there is a legal process for forming a union. Sounds like the experience related above is some sort of scam, and the demands, if indeed they come from a legitimate union, are probably illegal. But to say, as you do Intercasa, that "unions here in Mexico are a big scam" is similar to me saying that all real estate agents in Mexico are a bunch of dishonest sharks, just because some are. Unions in Mexico are the only thing that stands between workers and all-to-often rapacious employers who would pay nothing if they could get away with it. They are also one of the few ways workers have to collectively bring pressure on government officials to uphold the law.

[Intercasa]

It appears that the fraud and waste from the unions far outweigh any benefits. There are many outrageous examples besides the teachers union such as Luz y Fuerza in Mexico City. There are other ways to redress grievances and have the government comply with the law without inserting a layer of corruption between the worker and employer who will only look out for its own interests to the detriment of worker and employer.

[MCsquared]

Please address corruption in the private sector.

[Doolittle]

Please stay on topic.

[tobyjug]

Do you belong to a similar group or association in the rental business???

I would suggest that you treat "them" at arms length via your attorney, accountant or a Mexican business friend..do not talk directly with them, refer them to your "representative"

It maybe just bad luck that you have been "chosen"

If my memory serves me correctly, this sort of hassle happened to a small shop/cafe owner in Chapala a couple of years ago, he gave up the business. (I think he is back in town and reads this forum)

[MCsquared]

The topic is abuse of power.

The implication was that this occurs only in the public sector.

How disingenuous.

Telling only some of the truth is dishonest.

My request is perfectly justified.

[MCsquared]

I stand corrected.

The original post concerned the intimidation of innocent people by a corrupt, false union.

Clearly, this is evil.

BUT Unions have served the common good in many countries.

Especially, NOB, where, after WW2, union members created the Middle Class.

Corruption, both public and private, is endemic in androcentric cultures.

From a Teamster.

[Doolittle]

I stand corrected.

The original post concerned the intimidation of innocent people by a corrupt, false union.

Clearly, this is evil.

BUT Unions have served the common good in many countries.

Especially, NOB, where, after WW2, union members created the Middle Class.

Corruption, both public and private, is endemic in androcentric cultures.

From a Teamster.

I was a member of the Retail Clerks Union in Portland, OR. However, the discussion concerns unions in Mexico, not NOB. Some unions in Mexico have way too much power, e.g. Pemex, now the most inefficient petro company in the entire world, the teachers union, and the now defunct Luz y Fuerza.

[Guest PalapaGirl]

It maybe just bad luck that you have been "chosen"

We are not the only ones to be "chosen." They are trying to intimidate a number of businesses (nationals and foreigner-owned)in the Zona Dorada of Bucerias. The Mexican attorney that we have spoken to says that they are basically extortionists. Everyone wants a piece of the tourism dollars that the beautiful coastal areas bring. Some of willing to work for it, others just want to siphon it off of those who do work.

I worked for a workers' rights NPO for years in the least unionized state of the U.S. I believe in the rights of workers to unionize. This, however, is the kind of group that gives unions a really bad name. They are not organizing workers, but trying to intimidate businesses to pay. That is not a union.