The governments of the United States and Mexico have announced a remediation plan to address denials of workers' rights at a tire-manufacturing facility in Mexico. The Goodyear SLP facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, is owned by U.S.-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
The course of remediation was reached under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)’s Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative reported in a July 19 news release.
“This course of remediation is aimed at remedying violations of workers’ rights at the Goodyear facility,” U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai said in the release. “The United States will closely monitor the plan’s implementation. I commend the government of Mexico for its commitment to bringing this facility into compliance with Mexico’s labor law and for raising awareness of the applicability of the contrato ley across the sector.”
The proposal "is the result of the commitment of the U.S. and Mexican Governments to workers’ rights. It represents a success for the workers in the facility and demonstrates the continued impact of the RRM," the USTR states in the release.
The USTR and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor are co-chairs of the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). The independent Mexican union La Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana sent an RRP petition to the ILC April 20, accusing Goodyear SLP of not honoring the industry-wide agreement (a contrato ley) covering the rubber industry, the release reported.
Goodyear SLP instead signed a collective bargaining agreement specific to the San Luis Potosí facility that provided inferior benefits to those in the contrato ley, according to the release.
On May 22, the U.S. formally requested Mexico investigate if Goodyear was denying workers the benefits and terms of the existing contrato ley. Mexico agreed, and determined the workers had been denied their rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association, the release reported.
The Mexican government canceled a legitimization vote at the facility after the petition was filed, according to the release. The remediation aims to rectify violations of Mexican law at the Goodyear facility and implement measures to prevent future violations at Goodyear SLP and also at other facilities.
As part of the remediation, the government of Mexico will ensure Goodyear applies the contrato ley at its SLP facility and continues to uphold superior wages and benefits for covered workers as compared to the contrato ley, the release reported. Goodyear will be required to compensate workers appropriately for any wages or benefits they were denied due to the company's failure to adhere to the contrato ley.
Additionally, Goodyear must publicly acknowledge its commitment to respecting freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, provide transparent guidelines to union representatives and advisors and conduct workers' rights training for all personnel, the release said. The Mexican government will monitor the facility to ensure compliance, conduct periodic inspections and initiate sanctions proceedings if necessary.
Goodyear has until Jan. 19, 2024, to complete the remediation course, the release reported.
