After ousting a long-established union last year, workers at an auto plant in central Mexico delivered a landslide victory to an independent union. The union’s victory over three other unions could spark a grassroots worker movement within multinational companies, especially those covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Opportunities and challenges of bottom-up organizing in Mexico: If the high-profile negotiation between the plant and its new union delivers appealing results for its workers, additional grassroots labor developments could emerge. For global companies covered by USMCA, the enforcement will also come from the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, which allows a complaint to be filed with the United States against any “covered facility” in Mexico for violating workers’ rights to organize or collectively bargain, and could result in severe penalties if a violation of labor rights is found. Additionally, independent unions in Mexico are usually backed by international unions and global unions and leverage resources from their peers. Each of these factors give Mexican workers and grassroot labor groups unprecedented confidence and strength to organize.
However, challenges to unionization under the USMCA remain. Even though significant progress has been made, the labor legislation and enforcement infrastructure are still under development in Mexico. Questions on specific employee and employer rights remain unclear and the Federal Center is yet to be established. Additionally, Mexico has little history with bottom-up organizing and workers there have little experience with union campaigns. Even with their international counterparts’ help, it will be a learning process.
Broader impact taking shape: The facility’s union leader invited unions and workers from all over the country to inform them of their labor rights. “Unions should not forget workers are who elect us, and we are formed to defend their rights, their integrity within the working hours, I think that we should never forget that.”
Outlook: Under Mexico’s labor law, the union has six months to negotiate a contract and get it approved by a majority of the plant’s workers. Salary and work shifts will be the focus, according to the union. HR Policy Global has formed a working group focused on the developments of Mexican labor issues. If you are interested in joining, please email me at wdong@hrpolicy.org.