A Mexican subsidiary of a U.S. company is interfering with workers’ organizing efforts ahead of a new collective bargaining vote in violation of the terms of a deal reached with the U.S. government last year, according to Mexican congresswoman and longtime labor-rights lawyer Susana Prieto Terrazas.
In the lead-up to a new union election approved last week by the Mexican government, workers at the auto parts facility Tridonex are being offered payment in exchange for photos of their ballots showing votes for a union traditionally aligned with the company, Prieto told Inside U.S. Trade in a WhatsApp message last Wednesday. Prieto, who founded an independent union that has been trying to organize at the plant, added that the union has not been allowed access to the facility.
The vote, initially set for Monday, Feb. 21, was postponed on Friday to Feb. 28.
Tridonex last August committed to neutrality in future union votes as part of an agreement brokered by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to settle a complaint brought under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s novel rapid-response mechanism.
Cardone, Tridonex’s Philadelphia-based parent company, said in a statement that the “decision of who represents the employees is the employees’ choice alone; and they should be able to make their decision free of interference or intimidation.”
“Cardone will remain neutral throughout the voting process, respect the authority of the Mexican labor board to carry out this vote, and stand ready to work with the representative employees select,” the statement added.
Prieto has criticized Tridonex’s agreement with the U.S., which she contends was negotiated by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative outside USMCA’s prescribed dispute settlement processes – and beyond the U.S.’ authority because the agency effectively was acting on behalf of Mexican workers.
USTR triggered the deal’s rapid-response mechanism last June when it announced it would pursue a complaint brought by the AFL-CIO alleging that Tridonex had denied worker rights, including by firing more than 600 workers in retaliation for organizing and “compelling them to sign ‘voluntary’ resignations in order to receive severance pay,” as stated in the petition.
The AFL-CIO also contended that the Tamaulipas government, “acting as an agent of Tridonex,” had detained Prieto in retaliation for her advocacy, among other claims.
As part of Tridonex’s agreement with USTR, the company committed to provide severance and back pay to at least 154 fired workers, among other actions, according to a USTR statement at the time.
Under an action plan released by USTR, former employees could be asked to waive legal claims for wrongful termination as a condition to receive such payments. The company is required under the plan to provide USTR in advance with copies of any such waivers.
According to a source familiar with the case, however, the company sometimes has sought to negotiate agreements with former workers without their legal representation present.
USTR noted in the statement that it worked “constructively with the Government of Mexico and the company to reach a resolution.”
The Mexican government agreed “to help facilitate workers’ rights training for Tridonex employees, monitor any union representation election at the facility, and investigate any claims of workers’ rights violations reported by employees at the plant,” according to the statement.
On the same day USTR announced the deal, Mexico’s Economy and Labor ministries issued a joint statement noting the announcement and stating the Mexican government had concluded in its investigation that there was no denial of worker rights under the terms of USMCA because the events cited in the complaint took place before the deal went into effect.
Mexico’s review of the U.S.’ complaint was delivered to USTR but has not been made public.
The source familiar with the case said USTR negotiated the deal in “good faith” – but contended it could do more in view of what the person described as Tridonex’s “ongoing” labor violations. “There might be a chance for USTR to re-engage and show that it is true, that part of their intentions of using the mechanism is to actually have meaningful solutions for workers in Mexico,” the source said in a recent interview.
Asked whether the Mexican government was acting to ensure fairness during the new vote, the source said on Thursday, “If they are, [it] is not clear to me what they are doing.”
A senior USTR official last August said the U.S. retained the right to pursue a panel under USMCA if Tridonex did not follow through on the commitments outlined in the agreement.
The office of Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) office told Inside U.S. Trade that the U.S. under USMCA could call for an independent body, such as the International Labor Organization, to help ensure Tridonex is not denying workers’ access to their collective bargaining rights.
During the negotiations that led to USMCA’s rapid-response mechanism, USTR drew heavily from a proposal offered by Brown and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR).
USTR and Mexico’s Labor Ministry did not return requests for comment by press time. -- Margaret Spiegelman (mspiegelman@iwpnews.com)
