Mexico Invalidates Union Vote at GM Plant --2nd Update
May 12 2021 - 2:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Yuka Hayashi
WASHINGTON -- The Mexican Labor Ministry said it is invalidating
a union vote at a General Motors Co. truck factory, after the U.S.
asked for a review under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The Labor Ministry said late Tuesday that it found enough
irregularities to invalidate the vote at GM's Silao assembly plant
in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato and ordered the union to
conduct another within 30 days in a process that guarantees workers
a free and secret vote "without coercion or intimidation."
The U.S. said that it requested a review after receiving
information "appearing to indicate serious violations" of workers'
rights during a recent vote to approve a collective bargaining
agreement.
The U.S. sought the review under the USMCA's labor-dispute
settlement enforcement tool called Rapid Response Labor Mechanism,
which makes it easier for the U.S. to bring complaints against
specific facilities in Mexico.
The action reflects the Biden administration's "serious
commitment to workers and a worker-centered trade policy,"
according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said his nation
was committed to complying with the terms of USMCA.
"So, if in a company that exports to the United States there is
mistreatment of workers, if fair wages are not being paid, if
there's no democracy, that must be addressed," he said in a
statement provided by the Mexican embassy in Washington.
GM has retained a third-party firm to review the situation and
will cooperate with the U.S. and Mexican governments, a spokeswoman
said.
"As a company, we respect and support the rights of our
employees to make a personal choice about union representation and
any collective bargaining on their behalf," she said.
Several House Democratic lawmakers had recently written to GM
Chief Executive Mary Barra to address the alleged violation
involving two sparring unions at the Silao plant.
The lawmakers, led by Rep. Dan Kildee (D., Mich.), alleged that
the vote by the plant's workers was tampered with by members of a
rival, pro-employer union through steps such as limiting voting
hours and destroying unfavorable ballots.
Earlier this week, U.S. and Mexican labor groups said they filed
a complaint against a Mexican auto-parts manufacturer, alleging
that it violated the USMCA by suppressing its workers' rights to
unionize.
The manufacturer is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Cardone
Industries Inc., which said it doesn't believe the allegations in
the complaint are accurate and would welcome a full inquiry.
Anthony Harrup contributed to this article.
Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 12, 2021 13:45 ET (17:45 GMT)
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