Carta al Secretario y Consejero General de Johnson Controls de CAW, USW, UAW, SNTMMSSRM, IMF 2011-0

January 28, 2011 Mr. Jerry Okarma Vice President and General Counsel Johnson Controls, Inc. P.O. Box 591 5757 N. Green Bay Milwaukee, WI 53201-0591 Fax: 414.524.2077 Dear Mr. Okarma: The undersigned labor organizations, which represent your employees throughout North America, write to express our concern regarding continuing reports of human rights violations directed at labor rights advocates in the state of Puebla, Mexico, as well as apparent noncompliance by your local management with its agreements signed with the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers (SNTMMSSRM).

Death threats and intimidation directed against the Workers’ Support Center On December 20, 2010, unidentified robbers broke into the offices of the Worker Support Centre (CAT), a labour rights organization that has been supporting organizing efforts at two Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) factories in Puebla, and scrawled the following message on the wall: YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE MESSING WITH. The robbers hacked into the e-mail address of Blanca Velåzquez, CAT's Executive Director, and the CAT institutional account, stole paper and electronic documents, and destroyed equipment, causing more than 200,000 pesos (US$ 16,500) in damage.

On January 11, 2011, the robbers sent another intimidating message to the CAT team through the hacked CAT institutional e-mail account, describing in detail an earlier violent attack on an activist in Mexico: "KIDNAPPING OF DIGNA OCHOA: In October of 1999 various subjects entered her home, gagged her, blindfolded her and interrogated her during approximately nine hours, to then abandon her tied to her bed by her hands and feet, next to an open gas tank. She was able to free herself and tried calling the police, but the line had been cut."

These recent acts of intimidation follow months of violence directed at the CAT. On April 28, 2010, two members of the CAT were assaulted. On August 9, three more members of the CAT were threatened while doing fieldwork at JCI. The masked men asked the workers to tell Blanca that if she continued to "mess with CROM", a national federation that holds what is widely acknowledged to be a “protection contact” at the JCI FINSA plant, "there would be consequences."

The CAT has filed criminal charges with local authorities. However, it is unlikely that an effective investigation will be conducted unless there is international pressure. We therefore request that you write to both the current Governor of Puebla and the incoming Governor requesting that state authorities diligently investigate and prosecute the threats and acts of intimidation directed at the CAT activists, and that your local representatives meet personally with these officials to reinforce this message. We further request that these letters be distributed to your employees and the news media.

We also ask that you publicly dissociate Johnson Controls from these actions and inform your workers, labor unions and local authorities that the company respects workers’ right of freedom of association both in the workplace and in their communities.

JCI can and should be demonstrating with its actions that violence will not be tolerated and that workers can freely associate without fear of reprisals either at the workplace or in their communities. Failure of the company to intervene to its fullest will be seen as making JCI complicit, should any further violence or intimidation occur.

Failure to respect the August agreement with the SNTMMSSRM On August 20, 2010, the company and the SNTMMSSRM signed an agreement resolving labor rights issues at the Johnson Controls Interiores plant. However, the company has not yet complied with some parts of this agreement. Specifically, psychological treatment for the workers who were beaten has not been provided, and medical reimbursements covered by the company have been taxed. We ask that Johnson Controls immediately provide the psychological counseling as agreed and make restitution for taxing medical reimbursements.

Registration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement Although the collective bargaining agreement agreed to with the SNTMMSSRM in August was filed with the Federal labor board on October 5, 2010, it is still not registered, due to the company’s failure to provide proper notification of its change in legal status (objeto social). We urge JCI to immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that the CBA is properly registered.

Rumors or plant closing and/or relocation of work Workers are increasingly concerned that JCI may close the Interiors plant, or massively lay off employees. Such an action would be seen internationally as retaliation based on the workers’ determination to exercise their freedom of association. We request that the company put these rumors to rest and issue a written statement to the workers in Spanish denying plans to lay off workers at Interiors or close the plant.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. We look forward to your reply.

Very truly yours,

Leo W. Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers (USW)

Bob King, President, United Auto Workers (UAW)

Ken Lewenza, President, Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)

Napole贸n G贸mez Urrutia, General Secretary, National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSSRM)

Jyrki Raina, General Secretary, International Metalworkers Federation (IMF)