Statements on Second Complaint Under USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism
“I applaud Ambassador Tai’s announcement that USTR will be pursuing a rapid response case against a General Motors auto facility in Silao, Mexico. Reports that the Confederación de Trabajadores Mexicanos (CTM) protection union destroyed ballots and directly tampered in a union election at a GM plant in Silao is deeply troubling and must be swiftly addressed by the Mexican government.
“Today’s announcement is the kind of facility-based enforcement mechanism I was proud to include with my colleagues during the NAFTA re-negotiation and is critical to ensuring the USMCA protects workers’ rights. This filing also comes in the same week the AFL-CIO and SEIU filed the first Rapid Response Mechanism labor case against Tridonex in Mexico. I am pleased to see USTR moving swiftly to pursue these critical cases.” [Read Full Statement]
“Today’s action by the Biden-Harris Administration reflects our shared dedication in upholding the historic labor rights standards we fought for in the USMCA and represents a new era in American trade relations with our global partners. As a former labor organizer, I deeply appreciate this administration’s leadership and Mexico’s cooperation in enforcing the vigorous oversight and accountability mechanisms my colleagues and I secured in the USMCA. Together, we can protect the rights of workers to organize in Mexico and level the economic playfield for workers throughout North America.” [Read Full Statement]
REPS. DAN KILDEE, RICHARD NEAL, EARL BLUMENAUER
“Reports that workers at the General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico were intimidated, threatened, and had their union ballots thrown out are deeply troubling. We strongly support the U.S. Trade Representative’s actions today to proactively use the agreement’s enforcement mechanisms.
“As members of the House Ways and Means Committee, we led efforts in Congress to secure significant improvements to the agreement, including more robust enforcement tools, to support workers. We also fought to establish a new paradigm for aggressive enforcement of trade agreements in the USMCA Implementation Act. In this case, Mexican workers took advantage of the hotline established in the Implementation Act to report potential violations at this facility to the U.S. government. The Implementation Act also provided unprecedented, requisite funding to USTR and DOL so that both agencies would have the resources necessary to bring cases like this one.” [Read Full Statement]
“The USW welcomes the Biden administration’s action to protect labor rights in Mexico and specifically those of workers at the Silao GM plant.
These workers are being denied their right to choose whether they want to keep the current collective bargaining agreement, which was negotiated without their approval, in a classic case of a protection contract being imposed upon workers by a company-aligned union.” [Read Full Statement]
“The UAW supports the actions of the U.S. Trade office and continues to have appropriate discussions at many levels about this significant workers’ rights issue.” [READ FULL STATEMENT]