The United States is once again asking the Mexican government to review worker rights violations at an automotive plant under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rapid response labor mechanism.
The latest request is for Mexico to look at whether workers at the Fujikura Automotive Mexico wire harness facility in Piedras Negras in the state of Coahuila are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, including through the company blacklisting or otherwise retaliating against workers because of union activity at their prior employer, Manufacturas VU.
Michigan-based soft-trim supplier Manufacturas VU closed its facility rather than comply with the labor relations terms imposed in a prior USMCA settlement.
The United States has continued to closely monitor the effects of the closure of the Manufacturas VU facility, and continues to engage with the government of Mexico on the matter, according to the US Trade Representative’s Office.
The review request is one of many ways the United States is working with Mexico to ensure former Manufacturas VU workers’ rights are protected. The United States has suspended liquidation of tariffs on goods from the facility.
The request, which was made in response to a petition, marks the eighteenth time the United States has formally invoked the rapid response labor mechanism.
The petitioner is Comité Fronterizo de Obreros, a Mexican workers’ rights organization. The petition alleged that Fujikura Automotive Mexico is refusing to hire workers because of union activity at Manufacturas VU.
"The practices of blacklisting and discrimination in hiring for engaging in protected union activity undercut workers' right to organize and choose a union freely," said Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee in a statement.
Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from yesterday to complete the review.
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