The Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement requested the Mexican government review workers’ rights violations at Unique Fabricating’s Querétaro facility in Mexico.
The request follows a petition filed under the USMCA alleging the automotive industry plastics manufacturer is violating workers’ right to collective bargaining and freedom of association, according to a March 6 news release. The ILC is co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Trade Representative.
“Labor provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and Mexico’s 2019 labor reform are intended to address allegations like those cited in this case,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said in the release. “The government of Mexico has indicated their support for full implementation of the labor reform. We look forward to working together to address the issues in this case.”
The Labor Department’s Feb. 2 receipt of the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism petition filed by the Transformación Sindical union was followed by the committee’s request, the release reported. The union alleged Unique Fabricating refused to give the union access to the facility, and the company was accused of interfering with the union’s organizing efforts.
The determination that sufficient, credible evidence supported the allegations enabled the invocation of the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, according to the release.
Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and 45 days to investigate the claims and present its findings, the release reported. The USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism allows the U.S. to take enforcement action based on the labor situation at an individual factory in Mexico if it fails to comply with domestic freedom of association and collective bargaining laws.
Unique Fabricating is a U.S.-based company that supplies components to several industries, including automotive, industrial off-road, appliance and medical, the release reported. It has production and warehouse facilities in several locations across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
