Brazilian auto workers: ‘Don’t take concessions!’

General Motors began demanding concessions from Brazilian auto workers in January. They were overwhelmingly voted down in Sao Jose dos Campos e Regiao by the Sindicato dos Metallurgicos (Metalworkers Union). Martha Grevatt, an autoworker for 20 years, interviewed the union’s general secretary, Luis Carlos “Mancha” Prates, when he was in Detroit April 13 for a labor conference. Prates also visited the picket line of UAW workers on strike at American Axle.

Luis Carlos Prates: They wanted new salaries, a new wage scale for new hires, 40 percent lower. The new workers would never reach the salary of older workers. They wanted flexible hours [more than 40 hours a week with no overtime], including night shifts and Saturdays. They wanted temporary work contracts. GM promised 600 new jobs and said they would reopen the second shift, which is currently shut down.

MG: How did the workers respond?

LCP: There were several union meetings and then there was a vote, and the majority rejected the concessions. GM then threatened to take jobs to another plant and to shut our plant.

MG: Have the concessions been imposed?

LCP: No, the company needed the agreement of the union. They are not allowed to impose flexible hours without the union’s agreement. It would be risky to impose the new wage scale without the union’s agreement.

MG: Where is the struggle at now?

LCP: Now, the company is trying to impose the concessions. They say without the reduction in pay and making the workday flexible, they will not produce new products. So we are organizing a resistance. We are denouncing this within Brazil and outside Brazil to unite everyone to support this struggle. We have leaflets and stickers for publicity in the community, so that all metalworkers know what’s happening. We have a media campaign, so people will support us in the event of a bigger struggle.

MG: How can U.S. workers help?

LCP: First, workers in the U.S. should fight for their own rights here, like at American Axle. Don’t take concessions. Second, we have to unite. We should not compete among us. We should not ask to take each other’s jobs.

MG: How are you planning support in Brazil for the American Axle strike?

LCP: One, we are going to do publicity about the strike, as an example of resistance to the transnationals, as an example of the globalization of workers’ struggles. Two, we will talk to the workers of American Axle’s Brazilian subsidiary to see how they can support the struggle.

Brother Prates asked workers from all over the world to support the metal workers’ fight. You can message them at [email protected].

To reach Martha Grevatt, e-mail [email protected].