USTR Must Press Enforcement of Labor Violations in Mexico

The systemic violation of workers’ and trade union rights in Mexico stemming from the North American Free Trade Agreement is clear evidence of the need for a binding and enforceable plan on enforcement of such violations, CWA President Cohen told U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

In a March 30 letter, Cohen pointed out that “despite the provisions of the NAFTA labor side agreement and labor law reforms enacted in 2012, the State Department's 2013 report on human rights found that the government did not consistently protect worker rights and “left workers with little recourse regarding violations of freedom of association, poor working conditions, or other problems."

Mexican law and practice have created a series of obstacles to workers' ability to exercise their rights. These practices are distorting the labor market, artificially depressing wages, limiting workers’ purchasing power and fomenting poverty and migration. They also hurt U.S. workers by reducing export opportunities and stimulating plant shutdowns, Cohen wrote.

The U.S. must advance an effective and enforceable plan that requires Mexico to remedy these distortions and establish a fair basis for competition. “Our government must be willing to combat impunity in the area of labor justice. This is an important time to make progress on these critical issues,” Cohen wrote.

Read the full letter here.

The systemic violation of workers' and trade union rights in Mexico stemming from the NAFTA is clear evidence of the need for an enforceable plan on enforcement of such violations.