On June 15, 2010, an official from Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) contacted USLEAP notifying us that the company will not meet with workers in Wisconsin from the JCI FINSA plant in Puebla, Mexico this Friday, June 18.
Workers at the FINSA auto part plant have been struggling for years to organize a legitimate and democratic union. The May 2010 victory at the JCI auto part plant, Resurrección, also in Puebla, initially sparked hope for a similar victory at the FINSA plant, but the company’s response today clearly shows that the fight is far from over and the struggle for an independent union at the JCI FINSA plant is still very much alive.
The Organizing Coalition of Workers of Johnson Controls (COT-JC) was formed in 2006 in response to the protection union at FINSA, the CROM, which fails to represent the needs and demands of the workforce. The COT-JC has attempted, without much success, to communicate with company management at the JCI headquarters in Milwaukee, WI since February of 2009 to address the “protection contract” and other issues.
USLEAP will be hosting a worker tour with workers from the JCI FINSA plant and representatives from the Mexican Mineworkers (Mineros) on June 16-18, 2010 in Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI. Click here for Chicago event.
On June 8, 2010, USLEAP wrote to JCI once again requesting a meeting in Milwaukee between management and the worker delegation. The company will be sending an official response later this week with the reasons why they refused to meet with workers, but the company official mentioned today that they believed these issues should be handled in Mexico with management there. Further expressing their support for the protection union at the FINSA plant, JCI also stated that it will continue to only recognize the legally-constituted union, based on "fair elections.”
According to Wisconsin State Senator Spencer Coggs, “Johnson Controls operates three different plants in Puebla, and they have already done the right thing by letting workers form an independent union at one location. This time we hope that workers can be heard without resorting to a strike.” Coggs, Chair of the Wisconsin Senate Labor Committee, will speak at a June 18 press conference in Milwaukee, WI and deliver a letter of support signed by other state legislators including Wisconsin Representative Pedro Colón.
The JCI official stated the resolution reached at the Resurrección plant was not due to any intervention from Milwaukee, claiming management in Mexico took care of all of it.
Johnson Controls Inc. is the largest private company in Wisconsin. According to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, which has been very active in supporting the JCI workers in Mexico, JCI has about thirty plants in Mexico, having moved thousands of auto parts jobs across the borders. Three plants are located in Puebla and produce seats and seat parts for Volkswagen, Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes Benz and Nissan. The FINSA plant, opened in 1994, does the final seat assembly and as of April 2010 has about 600 workers, the majority of them women. Salaries range from US$96 to $120 per week.
Take Action
Contact Johnson Controls. Express disappointment with the company’s decision to refuse to meet with FINSA workers in Milwaukee, WI. Ask that it respect freedom of association at its FINSA plant like it did at the Resurreción plant.
Mr. Stephen A. Roell
President and CEO
Johnson Controls, Inc.
5757 N. Green Bay Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53209
Telephone: 414-525-1200
Fax: 414-525-2077
Email: Deborah.a.liebert@jci.com [Assistant]
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