WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai released the following statement after workers at a General Motors facility in Silao, Mexico voted to reject their existing collective bargaining agreement. Last month, the United States and Mexico announced a course of remediation under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Rapid Response Labor Mechanism to provide the workers with the ability to vote in free and democratic conditions, and to remediate the denial of the right of free association and collective bargaining to workers at the facility.
“The vote results announced today are another important demonstration of the role of the USMCA’s rapid response mechanism in getting prompt and meaningful results for workers. We congratulate the Mexican government, in particular the Labor Ministry (STPS), for overseeing this vote. We also thank the International Labor Organization and Mexico’s National Electoral Institute for the important role they have played as observers at the vote and its lead-up. Free and fair union votes are a critical component of freedom of association and collective bargaining and the related labor provisions of the USMCA. The United States will continue to work with our Mexican counterparts – including through the use of the rapid response mechanism – to protect the rights of North American workers.”
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