[CTC] No Labor Reform in Mexico

Fri Nov 1 08:59:19 PDT 2019

 Congress can't/won't change a big, nasty system.  The USMCA is a
charade.

DESPITE USMCA SPOTLIGHT, SIGNIFICANT SHORTFALL IN MEXICAN BUDGET FOR
LABOR REFORM CONTINUES, MEXICAN LABOR RIGHTS DETERIORATING 

_LATEST MEXICAN BUDGET PROPOSAL DOESN'T PROVIDE NEEDED FUNDING; MEXICAN
COURTS ISSUE INJUNCTIONS AGAINST NEW LABOR LAW; FIRED MEXICAN GOODYEAR
AND OTHER UNION ORGANIZERS NOT REINSTATED; RECENT MEXICAN UNION LEADER'S
DISAPPEARANCE NOT INVESTIGATED_ 
_ _ 
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations offer a
once-in-a-generation opportunity to make lasting improvements to the
lives of millions. The U.S. government has certified almost one million
jobs as lost to NAFTA, and corporations outsource more jobs to Mexico
every week to pay workers less. Real wages in Mexico are down since
NAFTA, with manufacturing wages now 40% lower than in China. As
Democratic congressional leaders specified a year ago when Donald Trump
announced a revised NAFTA, artificially low Mexican wages will
incentivize more job outsourcing unless labor standards in Trump's deal
are strengthened and made subject to swift and certain enforcement, and
Mexico implements labor reforms to root out fake "protection" union
contracts. Absent these improvements, middle-class jobs will continue to
be transformed into sweatshops jobs in a race to the bottom that hurts
workers throughout North America. 

MEXICAN LABOR FUNDING PROPOSAL REMAINS WOEFULLY INADEQUATE – THE OCTOBER
AMLO LETTER 

The resources Mexico has proposed to implement labor reform fall far
short of what is required. The revised NAFTA's Mexican Labor Annex
requires that within four years, Mexico must review hundreds of
thousands of fake "protection" contracts, oversee voting on new
contracts approved by workers, and ensure contracts are implemented.
Yet, the 2020 labor budget submitted by Mexico's executive branch this
summer cut, not expanded, funding. Much of this reflected a cut in the
national youth employment program. However, funding for core functions
was also reduced by almost 9%. And, the significant increases needed to
stand up and staff new oversight bodies - new labor courts, conciliation
centers, and the labor inspectorate - was missing. Several U.S.
congressional delegations visited Mexico to express concerns, as did
labor leaders. 

In mid-October, Mexican President _Andrés_ Manuel _López Obrador_ (AMLO)
wrote House Ways & Means Chair Richard Neal a letter aimed at addressing
concerns. The letter was not reassuring. As the only written explanation
of Mexico's labor reform implementation plans, it is very vague. With
respect to funding:  

·       There is no certainty that the necessary funding will be
forthcoming. The letter notes that the Mexican Congress, "should it so
decide," could appropriate more funds, and the executive branch would
"ask" the Mexican Congress and local legislatures (many controlled by
opposition parties) to increase funding.  

·       The gap between aspirations and actual funding is spotlighted by
the figures in AMLO's letter. The total four year (FY 2020-2023)
estimated budget for the implementation of the labor reforms is
$899,196,204.  While the topline figure appears significant, in fact the
letter reveals seriously problematic gaps: 

 	* THE FUNDING IS HEAVILY BACK LOADED: LESS THAN 8% IS PROPOSED FOR FY
2020, THE CRITICAL FIRST YEAR OF THE REFORM PLAN WHEN THE NEW
INSTITUTIONS TO REVIEW AND RE-VOTE PROTECTION CONTRACTS MUST BE
ESTABLISHED AND STAFFED. To stand up the new system, the 2020 budget
would likely need to be the highest of the four-year period.

 	* THE TOTAL FIGURE ASSUMES THAT MEXICAN STATES – MANY OF WHICH ARE
CONTROLLED BY POLITICAL PARTIES HOSTILE TO AMLO AND LABOR REFORM – WILL
PROVIDE NEARLY HALF (46%) OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET. This means AMLO HAS NO
CONTROL OVER WHETHER THE MONEY NEEDED TO FUND THE LOCAL LABOR COURTS AND
CONCILIATION CENTERS WILL EVER BE APPROPRIATED. (The equivalent would be
President Trump assuming California's and New Mexico's Democratic
governors would provide state funds for half the cost of a border wall
they passionately oppose between those states and Mexico.) 

 	* MOREOVER, THE OVERALL BUDGET THAT THE MEXICAN PRESIDENT HOPES THE
MEXICAN CONGRESS AND STATE LEGISLATURES WILL APPROPRIATE IN THE OUT
YEARS ASSUMES AN ENORMOUS, IMPROBABLE EXPANSION OVER THE 2020 PROPOSED
FIGURE of $69 million. The 2021 budget of $176,302,164 assumes a 154%
increase over the 2020 budget, while the 2021-2023 amounts
($324,832,546) assumes an improbable 386% expansion.

·       As well, the AMLO letter reveals a woeful lack of labor
inspectors relative to the staffing needed to make a difference. The
proposed increase of federal and state inspectors is from 901 to 1,129 -
LESS THAN A QUARTER OF THE 5,600 ADVISED BY THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR
ORGANIZATION FOR A COUNTRY OF MEXICO'S SIZE. And, the budget and reform
plan continue to rely on notaries - instead of labor inspectors or other
government officials - to conduct roughly 20% of verification votes on
existing union contracts.  

MEXICAN PROTECTION UNIONS AND EMPLOYERS HAVE WON INJUNCTIONS AGAINST THE
MEXICAN LABOR LAW REFORMS THAT ARE VITAL TO IMPLEMENTATION OF A REVISED
NAFTA 

Mexico passed a new labor law in May 2019 to establish institutions and
processes to review and replace the hundreds of thousands of fake
"protection" union contracts that have suppressed wages in Mexico for
decades. The revised NAFTA's Labor Annex requires that workers have the
right to review and vote on union contracts and that existing protection
contracts be replaced within four years. 

The forces arrayed against improvements in workers' rights are powerful.
Those opposing change have taken to the courts to try to gut the new
law, similar to the attack in the United States against Obamacare.
Employers that have benefitted from suppressed wages have worked with
protection unions to file 425 lawsuits, including challenges to the
constitutionality of the new labor law and related regulations. To date,
224 cases have been dismissed. But a Mexican federal appeals court has
granted an injunction against the law [1]. And CTM, the labor federation
associated with many of the protection contracts, has won at least one
additional injunction [2]. The Mexican Labor Ministry has appealed and
is trying to get the cases consolidated [3]. In his October letter, AMLO
sought to assuage concerns about the lawsuits by noting that "_amparo_"
rulings against the new labor law would only protect specific fake union
contracts named in each case. This is not reassuring: Successful
lawsuits will encourage more cases to be filed to protect more bogus
contracts.   

If the new law does not go into effect, Mexico would be in violation of
its new NAFTA labor obligations, and workers there would remain without
basic rights to fight for fair wages. This would continue the powerful
pull to outsource more American jobs. The fierce pushback against
Mexican labor reform reveals why the labor terms and critically their
enforcement terms in the revised NAFTA must be significantly
strengthened. 

EVEN WITH NAFTA SPOTLIGHT ON, LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO NOT IMPROVING 

Since NAFTA renegotiations started in 2017, three activists trying to
organize a union at the Media Luna gold mine in southwestern Mexico have
been murdered by anti-union vigilantes. Brothers Víctor and Marcelino
Sahuanitla Peña were dragged from a union protest and shot as NAFTA
talks were occurring 385 miles away in Mexico City. A year later union
leader Quintin Salgado was killed. Now their colleague, labor and
environmental activist Oscar Hernández Romero, has been missing since
September 23, 2019. Mexican authorities have refused to investigate
Oscar's disappearance. Law enforcement authorities in Mexico seldom
investigate, much less prosecute, violence against labor organizers. 

Goodyear Mexico fired 50 workers [4] last year when they tried to
organize an independent union at a new $500 million plant in San Luis
Potosí. There, workers are paid $1.58 per hour as Goodyear lays off U.S.
workers who make the same tires for middle-class wages. A year later,
the workers haven't been reinstated, as required by Mexico's existing
labor laws. A congressional delegation seeking to visit the plant in
mid-2019 was denied access, reinforcing concerns about the prospect of
real labor reforms in Mexico. 

GM Mexico recently fired five Mexican autoworkers [5] at their Silao
plant for organizing in support of the United Auto Workers strike.
Shortly after NAFTA renegotiations ended in late 2018, GM announced it
would shutter five plants and lay off more than 5,000 U.S. workers, even
as it is increasing production in Mexico. 

The forces arrayed against workers in Mexico having basic rights are
underscored by the continuation of flagrant labor rights violations even
as the spotlight is on related to NAFTA renegotiations. Mexico won't
correct its pervasive labor problems anytime soon - and that's why
strong labor standards and effective enforcement must be baked into the
new NAFTA. That means independent inspection of workplaces [6]  and the
right to block goods at the border made in plants that do not follow the
rules. 

Arthur Stamoulis 
Citizens Trade Campaign 
(202) 494-8826 

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Links:
------
[1]
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/CTM-pega-primer-hit-en-batalla-legal-contra-reforma-laboral-20190724-0003.html.
[2]
https://www.jornada.com.mx/2019/08/04/politica/007n1pol?fbclid=IwAR0XQvZGLCHQHmgejcUp_x_d0tTXWANhKym5Dm5QUtK8LBtuiseExJZSCv0.
[3]
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/Secretaria-del-Trabajo-impugna-las-suspensiones-contra-la-reforma-laboral-que-promueve-CTM-20190804-0020.html.
[4]
http://www.industriall-union.org/goodyear-mexico-fires-workers-for-setting-up-their-own-union
[5]
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbm9b8/general-motors-fired-five-mexican-workers-for-aiding-the-us-auto-strike
[6]
https://aflcio.org/testimonies/mexicos-labor-reform-opportunities-and-challenges-improved-nafta
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_______________________________________________
The CTC-field list provides trade reform advocates with timely information for organizing field activists outside of Washington D.C.  The list administrators prioritize postings based on current CTC field activities, the congressional agenda, and likelihood of actually mobilizing people into real action.  Please contact the list administrator with any questions.

The Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) is a national coalition whose members include Americans for Democratic Action, Communications Workers of America, Friends of the Earth U.S., Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, National Family Farm Coalition, National Farmers Union, Pubic Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, Sierra Club, TransAfrica Forum, UNITE HERE, United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, United Brotherhood of Carpenters, United Mineworkers of America, United Steelworkers, United Students Against Sweatshops and Witness for Peace, as well as regional, state, and city-based coalitions, organizations, and individual activists throughout the United States.

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