CWA Applauds Biden Administration’s Continued Commitment to Protecting Labor Rights for Call Center Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Communications Workers of America released the following statement in response to United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s announcement that the United States has requested a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism panel to verify whether Atento Servicios, S.A. de C.V. is in compliance with Mexican labor laws at its facility in the city of Pachuca, state of Hidalgo. Atento is a multinational corporation offering outsourced customer support services to companies in financial, telecommunications, healthcare, and other sectors.

Ambassador Tai’s announcement follows her January 2024 request that Mexico review whether workers at the Atento facility were being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. While Mexico found that a denial of rights had existed, it determined that Atento had addressed the situation. According to Ambassador Tai’s request for a panel, the United States does not agree that the situation has been adequately addressed “because certain of the wrongfully dismissed workers may not have received the full remediation owed to them under Mexican law, and because the Report did not address the impact of the Covered Facility’s illegal activity on the vote for the Certificate of Representation, held on December 6, 2023.”

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. issued the following statement:

By requesting a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism panel under the USMCA, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is demonstrating her commitment to protecting call center workers in both the U.S. and in Mexico. Her action puts multinational corporations like Atento Servicios on notice that the Biden Administration will not look the other way when call center operators attempt to prevent workers from raising industry standards by engaging in collective action. Our members and our union continue to stand in solidarity with the workers of Atento Servicios in their fight for union recognition and the just pay and benefits that they have earned and deserve.

###