Maquila!

John, of Mike's colleagues in the business college, arranges a field trip the last week of classes. Interested students, faculty, and hangers-on (like myself) sign up and we cross one of the bridges into Reynosa for a tour of several maquiladoras or manufacturing plants.

Getting to the Pharr International Bridge was an adventure in itself. Since we were going to Mexico on business, we had to park, fill out extra paperwork, and pay $20 to get processed. New stamp in my passport! After that, we tailgated John so we wouldn't get lost on the way to the first tour.

First stop: Nokia. We surrendered our cell phones and paperwork at the front desk, donned white lab coats, and filed into the conference room for cookies, coffee, and bottled water before the management presentation. I kept peppering them with questions about the gender balance among entry-level employees and management, about benefits for workers and whether they do any recycling. Then we walked around the (HUGE) 130,000 square foot facility checking out the different products being assembled and shipped.

Next stop: Black & Decker. This time we got protective eyewear, ear plugs and had to remove all jewelry above the waist before entering the maquila floor. We watched workers create and inspect plastic injection molding of tool housings. I burned my finger touching a drill handle hot off the presses. The earplugs and noise level made it difficult to hear our tour guides unless you were right on their heels. B&D was the only maquila we toured that employed disabled workers. The post-tour presentation was low-tech compared to Nokia's, but they were forthcoming in answering questions about their work force and business practices. Yes, they recycle. Just toss any wonky plastic part back in the melter.

Last stop: Corning. Not the cookware, although they're part of the same family. This was Corning Cable. By that time, we'd been on our feet about six hours and I wasn't quite as interested. They trotted us around the factory floor showing us cables and boxes and explaining how much data their products can carry. I cornered one of the tour guides to ask about gender balance, employee turnover and what they do for/with pregnant workers. He said the pregnant women wear pink smocks and are assigned to lighter duties and get 6 weeks maternity leave. We finished the tour right at the end of a shift change and I'd never seen such a stampede to punch out! We were herded into a conference room overlooking the plant floor and asked a few questions. They seemed befuddled by my question about recycling.

The three maquilas we toured--Nokia, Black & Decker, and Corning Cable--are considered employers of choice. They provide transportation, health services, free/heavily subsidized meals and treat their employees like valuable human beings, not disposable commodities. Even though all three reported significant turnover among entry-level employees, they don't have trouble filling openings. It was an interesting behind-the-scenes view of what goes into manufacturing and assembling cell phones, power tools and fiberoptic cables--items we rely on with provenance we don't often think about.

After the tours, dinner! We luged through Reynosa trying to keep up with John--no easy task even on the U.S. side. I was glad Mike was driving--and doubly glad he could explain to the police officer directing traffic why he'd pulled a U-turn on a bridge when we accidentally made a turn John didn't and were trying to catch up.

Aside from that incident, we arrived at La Fogata in one piece and enjoyed a nice dinner with a handful of folks who'd lasted to the bitter end. We crossed over the Hidalgo bridge, got stuck in traffic leaving a concert at Dodge Arena, and I didn't wake up until Mike pulled into our driveway. Looking forward to next semester's tour!