Labor & Employment Law

AFL-CIO-Mexico Action Plan Focuses on Economy, Labor Rights

By James Parks

Members of the United Steelworkers and supporters protested then- Mexican President Felipe Calderon?s visit to Washington, D.C., in May 2010.

The AFL-CIO and the major independent Mexican labor federation, Unión Nacional de Trabajadores (UNT), have agreed on a joint action plan to bring  economic and social development to both countries.

The plan, signed by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and the three co-presidents of UNT, calls for the two federations to work jointly to rebuild the industrial base in the United States and Mexico. They will work together across industries to ensure that jobs in these industries are good jobs and workers are represented by unions and to coordinate bargaining across borders.

Mexican unions and U.S. unions have worked closely for years. Most recently, the AFL-CIO and the United Steelworkers (USW) backed strikers at  Grupo Mexico?s Cananea and Pasta de Conchos mines. The Communications Workers of America (CWA), led by  President Larry Cohen, has had a long working relationship with STRM, the independent union of telephone workers, defending worker and union rights and supporting each other in bargaining, organizing and mobilization.  

In 2007, Santiago Rafael Cruz, an organizer for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), was murdered in Monterrey where he was helping farmworkers speak out and fight corruption in the recruitment of workers to migrate to America. The Solidarity Center also works with Mexican workers to build an independent trade union movement there.

CWA’s Cohen says:

The working people of Mexico need an independent trade union movement to be able to bargain fairly and make economic gains for themselves and their families. The UNT is a dynamic organization with members like STRM that are committed to ending the Mexican government’s assault on workers’ rights. This plan will help bring economic justice to workers in both Mexico and the United States

AFL-CIO International Affairs Director Cathy Feingold adds:

The agreement reached with the UNT represents an important step forward towards realizing a shared prosperity agenda for workers struggling in both Mexico and the United States.

The union leaders also agreed to work together to oppose any further weakening of labor laws and to work jointly to strengthen labor laws through the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other global groups.

One of the major labor-law problems in Mexico is the so-called ?protection contracts?? collective agreements negotiated between employers and “official” company or government-appointed union leaders?which “protect” the employer from having to deal with representative and democratic trade unions. Protection contracts are negotiated without the knowledge or consent of workers. Such contracts often are in place in a factory even before workers are hired. Experts estimate that the vast majority of collective bargaining agreements in the country are in fact protection contracts.

The agreement also calls for:

•  Developing a plan for immigration that protects, promotes and respects immigrant rights.
• Working together to combat unscrupulous labor recruiters and end labor abuses in both countries.
• Pushing for changes in both the North American Free Trade Agreement  (NAFTA) and the labor side agreements.
• Using the existing systems in trade agreements to push for enforcement of worker rights in each country.
• Conducting  joint corporate campaigns to build authentic representation for workers.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 29, 2010 (boomark / email).