Laureate Education Inc. faces labor problems in Mexico.

• Corporation accused of violating the freedom of association, and workers’ rights.

After requesting registration for a union, 30 professors who used to work at Laureate Education, Inc. (referred to hereafter as Laureate) were fired from this corporation. This violates Mexican laws and Convention 87 of the International Labor Organization, which protects the freedom of association.

With headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, Laureate is a provider of higher education. It is the owner of over 37 private universities in 18 countries of Asia, Europe and America. Directed by Douglas L. Becker, in the United States the corporation owns Walden University, which is an on-line educational institution. It has recently announced the purchase of the New School of Architecture and Design in California, and of Kendall College in Illinois

The dismissed professors used to work for the Universidad del Valle de México (UVM), which is the primary income generator for Laureate, having brought in over 282 million dollars in tuition and registration fees in 2006. This profitability has allowed Laureate to purchase the Technological University of Mexico (UNITEC), in 2008. UNITEC is another of the largest private higher education institutions in Mexico; this purchase makes Laureate the single greatest provider of private educational services in the country, with over 115,000 students. This growth and expansion contrasts starkly with the salaries and benefits given to the professors, many of whom earn 61 pesos (approximately USD$6) per class hour, without any benefits or job security.

Although they have been working for Laureate and UVM for many years, the teachers accuse UVM of not letting them enter their work places, and that with just a few days before the beginning of the new classes, they have not been assigned any courses. According to the professors, this is a strategy designed by Laureate and the Mexican union “Justo Sierra”, to make them lose their jobs.

The Justo Sierra Union is known in Mexico for its corruption and submissiveness, because it defends the interests of big transnationals over the interests of its own members. It is headed by Ramón Gámez Martínez, a labor lawyer and fugitive accused of pederasty by Mexican authorities. Year after year, this Union negotiates labor conditions for workers of businesses such as Aviacsa, Walmart, McDonald’s and Laureate. The resulting agreements are reached without consulting the workers involved, most of whom don’t even know what union they belong to, nor what rights they possess. Those workers who are interested and ask questions, are quickly dissuaded and often fired from the institution.

UVM professors, in inconformity with this situation, decided to form an independent union to represent their interests. But when they began to organize, the UVM authorities and Justo Sierra Union started a harassment campaign against them. In addition to not assigning them courses (which is a de facto dismissal), UVM accuses them of being poor teachers (despite the fact that some had been named “best teacher of the year” by UVM itself). In addition, UVM has tried to discredit them with other institutions (with smear campaigns), and to prohibit other workers from talking to them. Because of all this, 29 of the professors have filed labor lawsuits with the relevant authorities, and are expecting more lawsuits to be initiated in various states around the country. The professors expressed that they are also receiving legal and political support from independent organizations and unions around the country, but that UVM has the support of the state government, greater resources, and also benefits from the public’s lack of information. Because of this, the professors are seeking to publicize their condition, to reveal practices that not only harm the professors, but also the students, and ultimately, Laureate’s own educational quality.

Signed by: Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Instituciones Educativas, Similares y Conexos. “20 de Noviembre” (“November 20th Nacional Independent Union of Educational, Similar and Related Institutions”)

Related links:
www.uvmdigna.org
www.jornada.unam.mx/2008/08/12/index.php
www.milenio.com/edomex/milenio/nota.asp
www.uvmnet.edu
www.laureate-inc.com/pressreleaseID.php