[CTC] ICYMI: U.S., Tridonex reach a deal under USMCA rapid response mechanism

Thu Aug 12 06:40:27 PDT 2021

Three items below….

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2021

CONTACT: media at ustr.eop.gov <mailto:media at ustr.eop.gov>

UNITED STATES REACHES AGREEMENT WITH MEXICAN AUTO PARTS COMPANY TO PROTECT WORKERS’ RIGHTS

WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Tridonex, a subsidiary of Cardone Industries, today announced an agreement to address allegations filed on behalf of employees at the Tridonex facility in Matamoros, State of Tamaulipas, that workers are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.  This agreement is the second time USTR successfully used the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) to benefit workers, and the first in response to an RRM petition. 

“Workers at home and abroad deserve the right to collectively bargain for a fair wage and decent working conditions without the fear of retaliation,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “The agreement reached with Tridonex to provide severance, backpay and a commitment to neutrality in future union elections shows our determination to leverage the USMCA’s innovative enforcement tools to address long-standing labor issues and support Mexico’s implementation of its recent labor reforms. This result is another important example of USTR’s worker-centered trade policy in practice and I commend the company and the Government of Mexico for working constructively to achieve this important outcome.”

The United States has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to using the USMCA’s robust mechanisms to ensure worker rights are protected, and USTR leveraged the agreement to help protect collective bargaining rights in Mexico.

“A worker’s right to choose a union that will represent his or her values and interests is fundamental to freedom of association,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “The agreement reached today as a result of a USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism petition will put in place crucial safeguards to assure a fair process for determining the representative union at Tridonex. It also signals to workers here at home and around the world that the U.S. Government is committed to taking decisive steps to defend workers’ rights and ensure that the benefits of trade are enjoyed by all workers.”

Today’s action follows the request for review under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism that the United States sent to Mexico on June 9, 2021 following the filing of a petition by the AFL-CIO and other groups on May 10, 2021.  As part of this agreement, Tridonex will, among other steps:

Provide severance and 6 months of backpay, totaling a minimum of 9 months of pay per worker and in many cases much more, to at least 154 workers who were dismissed from the plant, for a total backpay amount of more than $600,000.
Support the right of its workers to determine their union representation without coercion, including by protecting its workers from intimidation and harassment and welcoming election observers in the plant leading up to and during any vote;
Provide training to all Tridonex workers on their rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association;
Remain neutral in any election for union representation at its facility;
Maintain and strengthen safety protocols to protect its workers from COVID-19 and financially support any employees who are unable to report to work due to COVID-19 exposure or infection;
Revise its procedures and train its managers on fair workforce reduction procedures; and
Maintain and staff an employee hotline phone number to receive and respond to complaints of violations of workers’ rights in the facility.

In addition to these commitments made by Tridonex, the Government of Mexico has 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.

The commitments from Tridonex S. de R.L. de C.V. in the agreement are available here <https://ustr.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b58f12c4da47019d98a1e84ef&id=3426a373f6&e=638cedc5f5>.

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U.S., Tridonex reach a deal under USMCA rapid response mechanism
By Madeline Halpert, Inside US Trade
8/10/2021

The Biden administration and Tridonex, a Mexican auto parts facility, on Tuesday agreed to resolve a U.S. labor complaint against Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rapid-response mechanism, with the company pledging to provide severance and six months of backpay to at least 154 workers who were dismissed from the plant.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2021/aug/wto2021_0373b.pdf> that Tridonex -- a subsidiary of a Philadelphia-based auto parts manufacturer that supplies the U.S. market -- would provide a minimum of nine months of pay per worker, and in many cases, “much more” for a total of more than $600,000 in backpay as a part of the new agreement.

The announcement comes two months after USTR made use of the USMCA rapid response mechanism for the second time to launch a complaint <https://insidetrade.com/node/171513> against Tridonex for alleged workers’ rights violations. The complaint followed a long-awaited petition <https://insidetrade.com/node/171271> from the AFL-CIO in May alleging the company -- located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas -- was denying workers free association and collective bargaining rights.

USTR Katherine Tai on Tuesday commended the company and Mexico’s government for “working constructively” to achieve the “important” agreement.

“Workers at home and abroad deserve the right to collectively bargain for a fair wage and decent working conditions without the fear of retaliation,” Tai said in a statement. “The agreement reached with Tridonex to provide severance, backpay and a commitment to neutrality in future union elections shows our determination to leverage the USMCA’s innovative enforcement tools to address long-standing labor issues and support Mexico’s implementation of its recent labor reforms. This result is another important example of USTR’s worker-centered trade policy in practice.”

The agreement “signals to workers here at home and around the world that the U.S. Government is committed to taking decisive steps to defend workers’ rights and ensure that the benefits of trade are enjoyed by all workers,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said in a statement.

The deal, he added, will “put in place crucial safeguards” to assure a fair process for determining the representative union at Tridonex.

In addition to the severance and six months of backpay, Tridonex agreed to support workers’ right to determine their union representation “without coercion, including by protecting its workers from intimidation and harassment and welcoming election observers in the plant leading up to and during any vote,” according to the announcement.

Additionally, Tridonex agreed to provide all of its workers with training on their rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association; to remain neutral in elections for union representation at its facility and to strengthen safety protocols to protect its workers from COVID-19 and “financially support” employees who cannot report to work due to COVID-19 exposure or infection. Finally, the plant committed to training its managers on “fair workforce reduction procedures” and to maintaining -- and promoting -- an employee hotline phone number for complaints of workers’ rights violations in the facility.

Mexico’s government committed to protecting workers' right to vote for their union representation in “free, safe, and peaceful conditions” and to providing “robust” inspections of the Tridonex facility by the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, according to a White House fact sheet <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2021/aug/wto2021_0373c.pdf>.

The Tridonex agreement comes a month after the U.S. and Mexico announced a remediation plan <https://insidetrade.com/node/171720> to resolve USTR’s first rapid-respond mechanism complaint of alleged workers’ rights violations at a General Motors plant in Guanajuato. USTR filed the complaint in May after receiving a tip from a confidential hotline that management at a General Motors plant was violating workers’ rights ahead of a vote on whether to approve a collective bargaining agreement. Under the remediation plan <https://insidetrade.com/node/171720>, Mexico’s labor ministry agreed to oversee a new vote on Aug. 20, with more observers from the ministry as well as from the International Labor Organization.

The Tridonex agreement represents a “meaningful” outcome, a senior USTR official said in a call with reporters on Tuesday.

The deal demonstrates USTR’s determination to “use the USMCA’s innovative enforcement tools to address longstanding labor issues in Mexico,” the official said. “Protecting collective bargaining rights in Mexico not only helps workers there, but it helps American workers here as well by preventing trade from becoming a race to the bottom,” the official said.

The agreement, the official added, will help Mexican workers quickly and “in a way they really need.”

“It’s called rapid response for a reason,” the official said. “This is putting money in the pockets of workers who were out of work during a pandemic. So, we actually think this makes a big difference for them.”

If Tridonex does not follow through on the commitments outlined in the agreement, USTR retains the right to pursue a panel under USMCA, according to the official.

USTR will not “shy away” from engaging with Mexico and using the mechanism in the future, the official insisted, adding that the use of the mechanism over time could send a message to companies to respect workers’ rights. But the rapid-response mechanism, the senior official added, is “just one tool” of the Biden administration’s worker-centered trade policy.

Politico Morning Trade
MEXICAN LABOR SETTLEMENTS EMBOLDEN UNIONS: In just the past three months, the Biden administration has leveraged the rapid-response mechanism in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to resolve two workers’ rights disputes at factories in Mexico. Now, labor unions are on the hunt for the next case.

“We know the cases are out there, it’s a matter of identifying the strong ones and bringing them forward,” said Eric Gottwald, a trade specialist at the AFL-CIO. “But these early results, I think, give us some confidence.”

On Tuesday, Tai announced a settlement with auto parts supplier Tridonex <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94274a46419607b03a29bc11946ce4a0cf6b19acccd0e03bf2b1b7cee76b4f73ea3416f2fc118b6abc436c9b827c1234> after an investigation found workers at a Mexican facility were denied their right to freely choose a union and bargain for better compensation. The deal includes back pay for 150 dismissed workers.

Last month, the agency reached an agreement with Mexican authorities to provide more stringent oversight of a union vote at a General Motors plant <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94274a46419607b004961a253742fdac9ca20d12c47d58b03e22236603076c8782cbe1742d6bba4646b7f43f666641fc>, after a similar referendum had to be halted due to concerns with voting irregularities. That vote will happen this month.

“This mechanism, it's been used twice. It has delivered two meaningful settlements. And frankly, we're encouraged by what we've seen so far,” Gottwald said. “We're certainly going to put effort into bringing additional cases.”

Democrats celebrate: House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94274a46419607b06d35bea8de2b077eb82e13e470498a68ad3c0bdfde9471d4379b7c629d403728f8dedd53c7164ae5>(D-Mass.) and Earl Blumenauer <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94274a46419607b04ef744e26fe5e731877cba697036ebcbbbb85a044cb835128876fecc15a89b09d7de68ef10f07970> (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the trade subcommittee, praised the Tridonex settlement as an “important step” to safeguard workers and hold Mexico accountable.

The settlement “demonstrates the importance of having effective enforcement tools in our trade agreements, and this is exactly why we led the House Democrats’ charge to rethink our approach to trade enforcement and improve the USMCA,” the lawmakers said. 

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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