Oil Worker Strike

The oil workers unionized in 1935 with the blessing of President Cárdenas, creating the Sindicato Único de Trabajadores Petroleros. They immediately began trying to negotiate higher wages and better working conditions, but were rebuffed by the powerful international oil firms like Royal Dutch Shell and Standard Oil of California. The matter passed to an arbitration committee and eventually went to the courts, with the burning question being whether the oil firms could afford the higher wages. According to recent investigations, the Mexican subsidiaries make even more profit than oil companies in the United States, but still refuse to come to an agreement with the workers. It seems they have the backing of powerful regional strongmen and see themselves as being above the law.