Death of two workers sparks wildcat strike by 3,200 workers at auto parts plant in Matamoros, Mexico [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

By Andrea Lobo
20 June 2020

Thirty-two hundred auto parts workers in Matamoros, Mexico, employed by Tridonex Cardone carried out a wildcat strike on Friday morning in response to the deaths of two co-workers, suspected of being caused by COVID-19. The strikers demanded more information and the closing of the facilities until conditions are safe.

As soon as news broke that Luciano Romero Contreras, a 48-year-old janitor at Plant 52, had passed away the previous day, workers there downed their tools and began discussions at the facility and on social media. Amid deep sadness and indignation, with workers taking to social media to describe Romero as “a beautiful person,” a “great friend,” and a “comrade,” suspicions grew that he might have died from COVID-19.

Some who knew him confirmed the death and explained that he had preexisting kidney issues but, that the death seemed too “sudden.” One co-worker noted that Romero had worked during the brief shutdown of the plant in April.

. . .

“Yes, the three plants [stopped], because they are seeing how things are,” confirmed Miguel, a parts worker, on social media. “They [management] don’t care about us, even though they claim to be concerned for our families. Those are lies. They only care enough to treat us like animals. They don’t think that we can infect our families, take the virus to other places. Do they really think that checking our temperature once in the morning and the little bit of hand sanitizer [they provide] will protect us?”

More:
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/20/mata-j20.html