The Impact of United States Railroad Unions on Organized Labor and Government Policy in Mexico (1880-1911)

Abstract

EFORE the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1g9o, over half of all railroad workers participated in labor unions, making the railroads the most highly organized industry in Mexico. An examination of this development provides a vital insight into the growth of labor associations and the complexities of government labor policy in dependent countries. In Mexico, as in other Latin American nations, foreign companies and managers controlled the railroads by the turn of the century. In the early stages of operation, these companies, along with those in the mining and smelting industries, brought in foreign skilled workers who soon monopolized the betterpaying positions. What appears to distinguish the railroad industry is the presence of United States labor unions that came to Mexico, not to organize Mexican workers, but to protect United States workers who were in Mexico in sufficient numbers to warrant opening local chapters there.' These railroad brotherhoods affected not only the development of Mexican labor associations in the industry but also the government's labor policy under Porfirio Diaz. The nature of the Mexican labor associations during the Porfiriato