Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh called the approval of a recently negotiated collective bargaining agreement at a General Motors’ facility in Silao, Mexico, an important milestone for labor rights in Mexico.
He said it shows what labor protections in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and Mexico’s labor reform can mean for workers, according to a Department of Labor June 1 news release.
“Just a year ago, some 6,000 hard-working men and women who produce General Motors’ vehicles in Silao had no real voice at work,” Walsh said, according to the release. “Now, these same workers have elected their union leaders and voted to approve a new agreement drafted and negotiated by their peers.”
A collective bargaining vote at a Mexican GM plant marks an important milestone in the realization of labor rights in Mexico, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said.
| Alyson Fligg/Department of Labor
The May 25-26 vote came after workers rejected a previous collective bargaining agreement in August 2021. The Silao plant workers picked a new union for collective bargaining negotiations in February 2022, the release said.
Walsh said the agreement improves wages and gives workers a process to regularly review their workload and scheduling to ensure workplace safety and health protections, according to the release. It includes protections from gender-based discrimination and harassment.
"This agreement improves real wages and gives workers a process to regularly review their workload and scheduling to ensure workplace safety and health protections, as well as protections from gender-based discrimination and harassment," Walsh said in the release. "We look forward to continuing our strong cooperation with the Mexican Labor Ministry to raise the floor for workers across our two countries."
