The White House cited Goodyear, Mas Air and Grupo Mexico as examples of labor success stories under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM).

To begin with, in May 2023, the United States asked Mexico to review whether the Goodyear SLP facility in San Luis Potosi was denying workers the beneficial terms of a sectoral agreement and instead subjecting them to a lower, facility-specific agreement negotiated between the company and a union aligned with the employer.

As a result of the MRR, the United States and Mexico decided on a course of remediation that included implementing the sectoral agreement at the facility and educating the workers on the benefits to which they are entitled under that agreement, improving and maintaining wages and benefits to match the terms of that agreement, and providing $4 million in back pay to the workers for the wages they should have received under the sectoral agreement.

The workers at the facility ultimately voted to oust the current union and elected an independent union to represent their interests.

Labor success stories

In August 2023, the United States asked Mexico to review whether pilots at Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (Mas Air) were being harassed, intimidated and retaliated against because of their union membership, and whether the company denied pilots the opportunity to vote on an accurate basis and with a properly filed collective bargaining agreement.

As a result of the RRM, pilots who were wrongfully terminated from the company were offered reinstatement and back pay, or severance if they did not want to return to their previous jobs.

In addition, the company adopted and published a position of neutrality in collective bargaining and created a hotline where workers can file complaints anonymously about labor rights violations.

Mexico also provided labor rights training to pilots.

Subsequently, pilots were able to vote for representation, resulting in the election of an independent union to represent them at the facility.

Mining

While the United States and Mexico have generally worked closely and collaboratively through this mechanism, the United States has not always been able to resolve RRM issues on its own, as in the case of the Grupo Mexico San Martin Mine.

There, the United States asked Mexico to review whether the mine operator in Zacatecas chose to ignore the existing union – which had the exclusive right to bargain collectively with the operator – and resume operations during an ongoing strike.

After Mexico found no denial of workers’ rights, the United States asked a dispute resolution panel under the USMCA to make its own assessment. This was the first time a panel was convened in connection with the mechanism.

«These are just some of the successes of the year under the RRM. They show that we can work with trading partners to promote workers’ rights and workplace democracy, which not only benefits workers overseas but creates a more level playing field for American workers,» the White House said.