Leadership and Empowerment of the Union Representative. By: Lic. Alejandro Rangel Segovia, General Secretary of SITIMM. Unions, since their origin in the 19th century, have been a fundamental piece both in the labor field, as well as in the political and social sphere of our country. The history of unionism is linked to the development of industry, which required the migration of hundreds of thousands of workers who went from working in the fields to large factories. Current unionism must be a protagonist of the new expressions of the labor struggle, it must guarantee authentic collective bargaining processes and maintain union democracy through personal, free, direct and secret voting. In addition, it must focus on a new form and culture of organic, democratic and transparent leadership. It must be an example for our Working Base, which through Unity in Union Work, has close and results-oriented representation. Leadership is a fundamental piece in current union work. The personality of a leader in turn plays a fundamental role in the performance of a group; for example, in team sports, the person who assumes the leadership role is usually the one with the most competitive attitude, although they do not seek individual recognition but group recognition, they seek for the team to achieve the best results within a competition. In the workplace, the leadership of middle and senior management of companies is essential for the optimal performance of all involved. Empathy is vital in the growth of companies, knowing the conditions in which each team member works and being able to resolve situations that arise and that could affect the performance of the worker who generates value. Every leadership position is intimately linked with the awareness that every activity we perform for our mind and body will have an impact on our role as a leader. A person who chooses to lead a healthy life (with everything that entails) is less likely to contract serious diseases that affect their performance. Thus, willpower is a determining factor in being a good leader, leading a healthy life and having better performance in the workplace. The will to do things is fundamental, replacing habits that help us little with activities that have a positive impact on our life (better nutrition, physical activities, reading, constant learning), allows us to directly benefit our family, society and our coworkers. Leadership usually has many definitions depending on the field of its application; at SITIMM we have focused on building social leadership. This type of leadership serves others and encourages each of our Union Representatives to be a leader of themselves, to have self-control and be proactive. There are topics that are fundamental for our Working Base such as: achieving better salaries and benefits, offering them effective, close and results-oriented union attention and supporting them in their work and personal development. Therefore, if our represented observe 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 in the Organization and in the workplaces. For SITIMM, authentic collective bargaining processes are of utmost importance and are based on petitions, based on written and oral surveys to our colleagues during tours of production lines. This closeness and proactivity allows us to defend the main requests of colleagues, always attending to and understanding the economic situations that the company and the social environment in general may be experiencing. Given the current situation of lack of parts and microcomponents, negotiations continue to be carried out periodically, thanks to the leadership of our Union Representatives and Company Representatives, so that workers and Companies reach an agreement that impacts the pockets of our members as little as possible. This is what union proactivity and social leadership consist of. Being a Union Representative is a source of pride and entails a series of responsibilities and satisfactions. Acting in favor of colleagues is in itself a symbol of leadership; our members have the confidence to approach and know that they are supported by a union leader and that behind that leader is SITIMM; that is True Unionism. This is how our Union Organization arrives with a clear direction to its 50th Anniversary to maintain and guarantee job stability, economic development, as well as the social well-being of its more than 55 thousand members and their families.
