CTM Warns 4% Increase at Volkswagen Will Impose Ceiling on All Auto Companies

ByMexico Solidarity

This article by Patricia Gutiérrez Rodríguez originally appeared in the August 28, 2025 edition of La Jornada de Oriente, the Puebla edition of Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper. Although this is a few weeks old, we are publishing it in light of a recent discussion about Volkswagen possibly laying off over 1,000 workers this month.

The recent agreement reached by the Independent Union of Volkswagen Automotive Industry Workers (SITIAVW) with the company sets a damaging precedent for the automotive sector in Puebla and the country. The Puebla Workers Federation (FTP–CTM), headed by Leobardo Soto Martínez, emphasized that this minimum adjustment will be the new benchmark for contract revisions, weakening collective bargaining and the purchasing power of thousands of employees.

Soto Martínez’s central criticism is not only directed at the inadequacy of the increase, but also at the attitude and methods of the union headed by Hugo Tlalpan Luna. “Now it turns out that those who called us charros are freer than those who considered themselves independent. The independent union is more charro than the charro,” the CTM member retorted in an interview.

The general secretary of the FTP-CTM asserted that this 4 percent percentage will be used by employers across the entire industrial sector as a ceiling in future negotiations, imposing a standard unfavorable to the workforce and perpetuating conditions of union weakness.

He pointed out that, unlike SITIAVW, the CTM has achieved double-digit increases and, in some cases, surpassed those of the German firm.

He stressed that the issue of tariffs should not be a pretext in wage negotiations, as there are suppliers offering better increases than Volkswagen.

The FTP-CTM leader directly accused Hugo Tlalpan Luna of surrendering ownership of the collective bargaining agreement, negotiating insufficient increases in previous agreements with the company, and consequently causing collateral damage to automotive sector workers.

He added that it was an open secret that the multinational company and the union were negotiating a possible strike, but that, given the workers’ dissatisfaction, they decided not to place the red and black flags at the Cuautlancingo plant.

“History will judge him, it will judge us all. What is certain is that the workers are deeply dissatisfied with their union,” Soto Martínez insisted.

The CTM member revealed that 17 companies in Puebla are facing critical situations due to disputes over the ownership of their collective bargaining agreements, involving more than 30,000 employees who could go on strike due to insufficient union support and pressure to maintain low raises.

Finally, Leobardo Soto Martínez added that the labor union he leads will advise employees of Volkswagen and any other company so they can achieve the best salary increases and benefits, and ensure their labour rights are respected.