The North America-based United Steelworkers (USW) union and the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Related Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSSRM) - known as Los Mineros - have signed a joint declaration to create a cross-border commission to explore unification of a potential union representing one million industrial workers in Mexico, Canada, US and the Caribbean.
In signing the declaration over the weekend, citing a global strategic alliance signed in 2005, USW President Leo W. Gerard and Napoleon Gomez, general secretary for Los Mineros, said the declaration establishes a joint commission of five members from each of the two unions' executive boards to propose "immediate measures to increase strategic cooperation between our organizations as well as the steps required to form a unified organization."
The USW represents 850,000 workers in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, while Los Mineros represents about 180,000 in Mexico.