Solidarity Across Borders: A Steelworker Stands with Los Mineros

"USW members joined thousands of other labor activists in Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of two striking members of Los Mineros, the Mexican mine and metal workers union.

Hector Alvarez Gómez and Mario Alberto Castillo Rodríguez were killed by police on April 20, 2006, two months after an explosion at a Grupo Mexico-owned coal mine took the lives of 65 miners.

Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, president of Los Mineros, denounced the explosion as industrial homicide and called for strikes across the country. It was during those strikes that the two members were killed.

Soon after, the Mexican government launched an effort to discredit Gomez by falsely accusing him of fraud. They issued an arrest warrant, and Gomez faced threats to his life. With help from the USW, he traveled to Canada, where he lived in exile until 2018."

As a United Steelworker, joining Los Mineros in Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, for the 20th anniversary of the deaths of two of their comrades was an experience that carried a weight difficult to put into words.

Twenty years may have passed, but the memory of those workers and the struggle they represented, remains very much alive. Standing alongside their families, fellow union members, and workers who continue that fight was a powerful reminder that the labor movement does not stop at a plant gate, a state line, or an international border.

For a Steelworker from the United States, being welcomed by Los Mineros showed what international solidarity truly means. We may speak different languages and work in different countries, but working people share many of the same struggles: the right to organize, the right to work safely, the right to dignity on the job, and the right to return home to our families at the end of every shift.

Being there wasn't simply about remembering two fallen workers. It was about honoring their sacrifice by continuing the fight they were part of. 

I highly suggest that anyone who has not had the opportunity to go down to Lazaro Cardenas for this rally, do so. If our local could build this kind of companionship and solidarity, we would be nearly unstoppable. When members genuinely care for one another, stand together through the difficult times, and understand that another worker’s struggle is their struggle too, that is when a union becomes more than an organization, it becomes a family.

An injury to one is an injury to all, and the memory of our fallen brothers reminds us why solidarity must never recognize borders.