Thousands of workers from General Motors (GM) in Mexico took a drastic move on Thursday in search of higher pay, as they voted out the previous labor union that held the plant contract for 25 years.

According to Reuters, the union known as SINTTIA upstaged its other competitors on Thursday, as it gathered at least 78 percent of the votes.

The votes were cast by roughly 6,500 employees of GM transmission and pickup plants located in the northern part of Mexico city of Silao, per Associated Press.

Also known as the Independent Union of Auto Industry Workers, SINTTIA gathered roughly 5,500 votes from the employees. Meanwhile, the previous union known as the Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM gathered around 1,000 votes.

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Mexico Union Aims to Raise Pay of General Motors Employees

According to reports, SINTTIA is aiming and preparing to pitch a raise on the pay of the General motors employees above inflation, which ended in 2021 above 7%.

SINTTIA Leader Alejandra Morales Reynoso said that they want workers to see the possibilities under a new union working with the employees.

"I want all the workers to see it can be done because this is a start of the new unionism... I think we are going to start showing all our colleagues that a real change can be achieved, not just here in Silao, but in the state, the country, and the world," Morales Reynoso said.

In addition, SINTTIA was also reportedly looking on some of Mexico's independent auto unions as their basis in achieving better wages and working conditions. It is known that SINTTIA helped ensure an average pay of $29.15 for an eight-hour shift at the Volkswagen plant located in Puebla.

"For years, we lost so much. Now we'll have to go bit by bit," Morales Reynoso noted.

SINTTIA leader also expressed hope that other unions who lost in the voting that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday would learn that "they should work for the base employees, for the workers, and not just for their interest.

U.S. Involvement in Mexico's General Motors Voting

The voting for a new union in General Motors came after officials from the United States threatened to impose tariffs under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement last year if they would not move to protect laborer rights. The said vote was also monitored by U.S. officials.

The U.S. stepped in as General Motors workers in Silao chose to end their contract with CTM, claiming that they wanted to change.

"If we go back to CTM, it will all be the same; all this work will have been for nothing," said employee German. The said employee wants his retirement pay to reflect his 36 years of service with General Motors.

Different sympathies from individuals and entities after SINTTIA won as the new Labor union in General Motors.

Labor activist and lawyer Susana Prieto called the win an "achievement," expressing gratitude to the U.S. government for making the vote possible through their intervention.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) also hopped in to congratulate the GM workers in Silao.

"The UAW congratulates the workers of GM Silao on forming a free, fair, and independent SINTTIA union," the UAW said in a statement.

Meanwhile, General Motors called the voting an "unprecedented exercise in democracy" and that they will act "in compliance with the law" to work with SINTTIA.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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