Just before arriving in Puerto Rico where I was to start an assignment after closing a factory in Mexico, I learned what I was about to face.  The campus I was going to be responsible for walked out on a non-union strike.  I asked legal counsel in Puerto Rico if this was a normal occurrence on the Island and they told me it was absolutely unique.  No company of this size ever faced this kind of situation.  My boss in Corporate told me he’d completely understand if I no longer wanted to take the job based on recent events and that if I desired, he’d tear up the contract.  I told him that I couldn’t imagine it being any worse and I thought that, given my previous six years of training in the culture in Mexico, I could figure a way to do this – AND that it would be fun in the process.  He thought I was insane!  But I’ve always thought that crisis was opportunity to get a better result and this is an example that proves it.

Not long after starting on the job, I recall a factory worker approaching me on the floor and wanting to meet with me.  He was a polite and sincere.   I told him that now was a good time and to tell me what was on his mind.  He proceeded to tell me that he was a temporary employee and had been so for 4 years.  He added that he had 200 peers in a similar position, telling me that this practice was common.  Bells and whistles starting going off in my head as I knew that labor laws in Puerto Rico were similar to US and that it was not a acceptable to keep temporary workers for more than a year without providing fringe benefits.  We were on shaky legal, and in my opinion, moral grounds.  He asked if I could look into this and help them resolve it. Read more »