FATE workers and union leader Alejandro Crespo face oral trial

A court in San Isidro, led by Judge Esteban Rossignoli, has ordered an oral trial for 24 workers from the FATE tire factory. The group includes Alejandro Crespo, General Secretary of the Sindicato Único de Trabajadores del Neumático Argentino (SUTNA), along with local union representatives and delegates.

The charges involve disturbance of possession and damages stemming from a protest at the San Fernando plant following its sudden closure in February 2026. Workers had occupied the facility to prevent dismantling and to advocate for the preservation of approximately 920 to 2,000 jobs.

SUTNA leadership has denounced the ruling as an attempt to criminalize labor protests and a response to what they describe as an illegal lockout by owner Javier Madanes Quintanilla. The defense intends to appeal the decision, seeking a dismissal of all charges on the grounds that the prosecution fails to prove individual criminal conduct during a collective labor dispute.