The interests of workers were not on the ballot, with the election limited to which faction of the bureaucracy gets to continue profiteering from dues money.
Workers at the General Motors assembly plant in the city of Silao have voted for a new independent union, presaging a new era of labor collaboration across borders.
Workers at a GM plant in northern Mexico are voting on whether to form one of the first truly independent auto labor unions in Mexican history. For almost a century, Mexican unions have been largely a sham, guaranteeing low wages that drained manufacturing jobs out of the United States. But with changes to Mexican labor law required under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, workers can in theory vote out the old, pro-company union bosses. But independent labor activists still face threats and pressure tactics. Just two days before the voting began, thugs threatened a union activist and told her not to show up for the vote.