Workers at a General Motors plant in Mexico who produce the company’s profitable Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups will get a new opportunity to vote on their collective bargaining agreement.
The Biden administration and Mexican government announced a deal Thursday for a new vote before Aug. 20. Concerns were raised about an earlier vote in April at the plant that alleged “serious violations of workers’ rights,” according to the office of U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai.
The Associated Press reported that the union at the plant in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato tried to destroy ballot boxes, and that the new vote will be held at the plant, rather than union offices. Inspectors and outside observers “will be allowed inside the plant to prevent intimidation tactics starting next week,” the AP said.
General Motors provided a statement, saying it’s pleased that Mexico has completed its review of the vote and that the two countries had agreed on a remediation plan “to support a free and fair vote in August.” The company said it looks forward to continuing to work with government officials in support of protecting workers’ rights.
GM said it condemns violations of labor rights and actions to restrict collective bargaining.
“We do not believe there was any GM involvement in the alleged violations, or that any government-approved inspectors were denied access to the facility. The company has cooperated with the U.S. government and the Mexican Labor Ministry and other stakeholders to protect the integrity of the process,” GM said.
GM said it employs 5,300 workers on two shifts at the facility, which was founded in 1995. Ninety-eight percent of what is produced there is exported.
Tai’s office released a statement, saying the remediation plan shows the potential of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to “protect workers’ rights and the benefits of a worker-centered trade policy.” The USMCA, which was negotiated by the Trump administration, replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“Fully implementing and enforcing the USMCA not only helps workers there, it also helps American workers by preventing trade from becoming a race to the bottom. Our agreements must be more than words on a page, and the United States will use every avenue to protect workers and ensure that Americans compete on a level playing field,” the statement said.
Mexico’s Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare released a statement, saying “the agreed repair plan is the result of the commitment of the actors involved and represents a triumph for all: for the workers of the plant, for the company and for the labor agenda in the region.”
The Mexican labor union involved in the vote did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The USMCA provides a rapid response mechanism to challenge labor violations, and the trade office pursued that in May.
Mexico, where autoworkers are paid a fraction of what their U.S. and Canadian counterparts make, overhauled its labor laws in 2019, and a new legitimization process directs unions to hold votes so workers can affirm their existing collective bargaining agreements, according to The New York Times.
“Sham collective bargaining agreements known as protection contracts, which are reached with employer-dominated unions and lack worker input, have been widespread in the country,” the Times reported.
The UAW issued a statement, saying that “for decades, Mexican workers’ voices have been suppressed by a dysfunctional and corrupt labor law system. In too many cases, employers have coordinated with anti-democratic unions to create ‘protection’ contracts that impose draconian wages and labor conditions on workers.”
The union said the agreement “sends a clear signal that workers’ fundamental rights on both sides of the border will no longer be ignored and are the focal point of our international trade agenda. We commend Ambassador Tai for putting the interests of workers front and center.”
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.