SITIMM Secretary-General Alejandro Rangel Segovia explains how social leadership, authentic collective bargaining and union democracy strengthen the role of the Union Representative and benefit more than 55,000 members on the road to the union's 50th Anniversary.
_By: Lic. Alejandro Rangel Segovia, Secretary-General of SITIMM_
Since their origin in the 19th century, unions have been a cornerstone of the labor, political and social spheres in our country. The history of unionism is tied to the development of industry, which required the migration of hundreds of thousands of workers from the countryside to the great factories.
Today's unionism must lead the new expressions of labor struggle, must guarantee processes of **authentic collective bargaining** and uphold **union democracy** through a personal, free, direct and secret vote. It must also embrace a new model and culture of organic, democratic and transparent leadership. It must set an example for our Worker Base, which — through Unity in Union Work — deserves close representation that delivers results.
Leadership is a cornerstone of today's union work. A leader's personality plays a decisive role in a group's performance; in team sports, for example, the one who takes on the leadership role is usually the most competitive, yet seeks not individual but collective recognition, aiming for the team to achieve the best results in a competition.
In the workplace, the leadership of middle and senior managers is essential for everyone's optimal performance. Empathy is vital to a company's growth: knowing the conditions under which each team member works, and being able to resolve situations that may affect the performance of the value-generating worker.
Every position of leadership is closely tied to the awareness that everything we do for our mind and body has an impact on our role as a leader. A person who chooses a healthy life (with everything that entails) is less likely to contract serious illnesses that would impair their performance. Willpower is therefore a decisive factor in being a good leader, leading a healthy life and performing better at work.
The will to act matters: replacing habits that do us little good with activities that have a positive impact on our lives (better nutrition, physical activity, reading, continuous learning) directly benefits our family, our society and our coworkers.
Leadership has many definitions depending on the context; at SITIMM we have focused on building **social leadership**. This kind of leadership serves others and drives each of our Union Representatives to lead themselves first — with self-control and a proactive attitude.
There are issues that are fundamental for our Worker Base: securing better wages and benefits, offering effective, close and results-oriented union support, and backing them in their professional and personal development. When those we represent see that we are proactive and that our attitude is focused on improving their conditions, they will eventually recognize our effort, and there will be better synergy within the Organization and at the workplaces.
For SITIMM, processes of authentic collective bargaining are paramount, and they are grounded in petition documents based on written and spoken surveys with our coworkers during walk-throughs on the production lines. This closeness and proactivity allow us to defend the main demands of our coworkers, always taking into account the economic situations a company and the broader social environment may be facing.
Faced with the current shortage of parts and microcomponents, negotiations continue to be held on a regular basis thanks to the leadership of our Union Representatives and Company Representatives, so that workers and companies can reach an agreement that impacts our members' pockets as little as possible. That is what union proactivity and social leadership are about.
Being a Union Representative is a source of pride and brings a set of responsibilities and rewards. Acting on behalf of your coworkers is in itself a symbol of leadership; that our members trust they can approach us and know they are backed by a union leader — and that behind that leader stands SITIMM — that is **Real Unionism**.
This is how our Union Organization reaches its **50th Anniversary** on a clear course, sustaining and guaranteeing job stability, economic development and the social well-being of its more than **55,000 members** and their families.
By Eduardo González Vl