[CTC] Levin, Unions Press U.S. To Resolve Mexico Labor Issues In Tandem With TPP

Sat Apr 4 06:53:25 PDT 2015

Inside U.S. Trade - 04/03/2015

Levin, Unions Press U.S. To Resolve Mexico Labor Issues In Tandem With TPP

Posted: April 02, 2015 
House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and two prominent union leaders are urging the Obama administration to secure commitments from Mexico to improve workers rights in at least two key areas in parallel to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, and are calling for these changes to be made before Congress votes on a bill to implement the agreement or earlier.

These calls by Levin, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Communications Workers for America (CWA) President Larry Cohen -- which have ramped up in the past few weeks -- are focused on securing changes to two aspects of Mexico's labor regime that U.S. labor unions have long complained do not adequately protect workers rights.

The first is so-called "protection contracts," which are collective bargaining agreements between employers and employer-dominated unions that set the terms of employment such as wages and work hours. Labor rights advocates charge that these contracts are often agreed to without the involvement or knowledge of workers who are members of the employer-dominated union, effectively denying their right to collective bargaining.

The second aspect are so-called "labor boards" set up by the Mexican government that are charged with registering unions, approving strikes and resolving labor disputes. Labor advocates say these boards, which are supposed to consist of representatives from government, workers and employers, are often corrupt and fail to deliver justice for workers.

In addition, Levin and Trumka have complained about what they say is the presence of child and forced labor in several Mexican agricultural sectors. Levin noted that the U.S. Department of Labor found the presence of child and forced labor in Mexico in its December 2014 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.

Levin identified these labor rights issues with Mexico in a March 23 blog post that also cited problems with Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia. He also told reporters on March 19 that the Mexico labor issue was mentioned during a House Democratic caucus meeting that same day with Trumka and International Brotherhood of Teamsters President James Hoffa.

Cohen raised the problems with Mexico's labor rights regime in a March 30 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, while Trumka did so in a Jan. 5 letter to President Obama ahead of a U.S.-Mexico presidential summit.

The new emphasis on Mexico represents somewhat of a shift in the debate over labor rights in TPP, which has largely focused on Vietnam. USTR is negotiating a labor action plan with Vietnam on specific steps it would have to take to improve labor rights in conjunction with TPP.

But sources said it is unclear whether USTR is negotiating a similar plan with Mexico or is willing to do so, despite the new pressure from Levin, AFL-CIO and CWA. However, one informed source said Levin and the unions are in talks with Froman on this issue.

A congressional source speculated that the increased focus on labor rights in Mexico by U.S. unions may be partially aimed at trying to counteract the administration's argument that TPP will raise labor rights protections, by pointing out that the situation has not improved in Mexico despite the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

It may also be based on the assessment by TPP opponents that focusing on Mexico as opposed to Vietnam may resonate more with Hispanic lawmakers and voters, this source said.

A labor source said unions are attempting to highlight their problems with Mexico because the TPP gives them leverage to address their longstanding complaints over protection contracts and corrupt labor boards. The leverage to extract reforms from Mexico will evaporates once TPP is ratified, this source said.

Levin and the two union leaders have all called for Mexico to address the protection contracts and labor boards in the near term in conjunction with TPP in a binding way, though they differ slightly on when Mexico must take steps to do so.

Trumka set the shortest timeline for implementation, calling in his Jan. 5 letter for Mexico to make the necessary changes "prior to entering into any trade agreement, as current laws are not in compliance with any credible labor chapter."

Levin took a more moderate approach in the March 23 blog post, saying that TPP parties should be required to adopt and implement any institutional changes needed to comply with the labor rights obligations of the TPP "before the implementing bill is submitted to Congress."

Cohen laid out the longest timeline in his March 30 letter to Froman. He said Mexico needs to implement the changes "prior to a congressional vote on any new trade agreement."

In terms of the format such commitments would take, Cohen and the AFL-CIO are both taking the position that they must be included in the text of the TPP, as opposed to a side agreement like the NAFTA labor accord or a "labor action plan" similar to the one the U.S. and Colombia agreed on in 2011 that was not enforceable.

In his letter, Cohen said the U.S. and Mexico must agree on a "binding plan" that is contained in the heart of the trade agreement. A labor source said the AFL-CIO supports the idea of having these commitments spelled out in an annex to the labor chapter.

Levin voted against the U.S.-Colombia FTA in 2011 because its implementing bill did not include a reference to the action plan stating that the Colombia FTA could not take effect until the president certifies that Colombia has upheld relevant labor action plan commitments (Inside U.S. Trade, July 1, 2011).

A labor source said that protection contracts in Mexico have been a longstanding complaint of U.S. labor groups, and that in some ways they are a vestige of the single-party rule Mexico experienced from the 1920s until 2000. For example, the AFL-CIO in a Spanish-language letter sent to Mexican Labor Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida on March 28 criticized a protection contract that more than 80,000 agricultural workers in Baja California have had since the 1980s.

An employer-dominated union is another term for a "company union" or "yellow union," a labor source said. A glossary by the International Trade Union Convention defines a yellow union as a "union set up and/or controlled by the employer to prevent the establishment of a genuine trade union."

Although this type of arrangement takes different forms depending on the country, employers can use corrupt methods, such as bribery or selecting the human resources manager to be the local union president, to influence these outcomes, this labor source said.

Company union arrangements are prohibited under Article 2 of International Labor Organization Core Convention 98, which outlines the rights to organize and bargain collectively. Multiple sources noted that Mexico could be breaching its obligations as soon as the TPP enters into force since the agreement is expected to include an obligation for countries' laws and regulations to uphold fundamental labor rights, including freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively.

Cohen's letter recommended that USTR push Mexico to take legislative or regulatory action to improve the situation in both cases. This could take the form of either legislative or administrative action to allow workers in Mexico to ratify the contracts before they enter into force, he said.

Cohen said this change was included in a 2012 labor law reform proposal that Mexico's Senate passed, but did not make it into the final reform package. A labor source said this law could provide a blueprint for future action.

On labor boards, Cohen points to "inefficiency, bias, and corruption" in their handling of conciliation and arbitration proceedings. "Workers who appeal to the [labor boards] for justice routinely encounter a complete lack of transparency, interminable delays, demands for bribes, and not infrequently, violent repression," Cohen said.

Cohen pointed to expert proposals to replace the current conciliation and arbitration system with a "new and impartial system of labor justice." One proposal would establish a hybrid judicial-administrative agency or a new entity within the judicial branch, while another floats moving some labor board functions into a new independent executive agency, and others to the judiciary branch.
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