Auto Parts Manufacturer In Hermosillo Concedes To Worker Demands After 4-Day Strike

By Kendal Blust
Published: Monday, August 13, 2018 - 8:53am
Updated: Thursday, August 16, 2018 - 9:02am
Audio icon Download mp3 (1.25 MB)
Gerardo Vázquez
Workers on strike blocked doors to the building at Leoni.
Leoni Wiring Systems
Leoni Wiring Systems in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Kendal Blust/KJZZ
Gerardo Vázquez, president of the manufacturing industry council in Sonora.

Workers won significant concessions from an auto parts manufacturer in northern Mexico last week after a four-day strike.

About half the company’s 4,000-person workforce walked off the job to demand the company fire a manager they said created a hostile work environment. The workers’ union also asked the company for free meals, shade structures, new bathrooms and air conditioned transportation to work.

German-owned Leoni Wiring Systems agreed to the conditions, and workers returned to the job by last Friday.

The auto parts manufacturer is one of the largest employers in the Sonoran state capital of Hermosillo, says Gerardo Vázquez, president of the manufacturing industry council in Sonora.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “This company is the main company for Hermosillo and this employment is very important for the city.”

He says he’s worried this makes Sonora seem less friendly to businesses. He also accused the workers union of making demands that are not allowed, thus abusing the rights of the company they work for. He said in September when newly elected officials are installed in the Sonoran congress, he will ask them to investigate the situation. For now, he says, the Sonoran government has not been supportive of their concerns.

Union leaders are calling the outcome a win for local workers.

BusinessFronteras Sonora