Three Trade Subcommittee Democrats Criticize GM's Approach to Workers in Mexico
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said he and colleagues Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., and Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., "are alarmed by reports of continued harassment, intimidation, and violence against independent union activists in the General Motors’ (GM) auto plant in Silao, Mexico leading up to next week’s union election." The congressmen noted that a previous vote in Silao was overturned through consultations under USMCA's rapid response mechanism, and they say that unless GM and Mexican officials immediately act, the agreement to rerun the election could be pointless.
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"It is imperative that GM and Mexico’s labor authority ensure that every single worker may cast a secret ballot freely and without intimidation, disseminate election information to all workers, guarantee official and independent election observers are present immediately, and facilitate transportation and full access to vote for all workers. These essential protections help protect the rights of workers in Mexico and also in the United States by raising the floor of labor standards across both sides of our border," they said in a Jan. 28 statement.