AFL-CIO, Mexican Independent Unions Move Forward on Plan for Jobs, Workers Rights

The AFL-CIO and Mexico’s independent labor federation UNT, Unión Nacional de Trabajadores, have signed a joint action plan to help rebuild the industrial base in the United States and Mexico, ensure workers’ rights and coordinate bargaining across borders. The agreement builds on years of joint work between U.S. and Mexican unions, in particular, CWA’s long working relationship with STRM, the independent union of telephone workers.

CWA President Larry Cohen said the new initiative will help bring economic justice to workers in both nations. “The working people of Mexico need an independent trade union movement to be able to bargain fairly and make economic gains for themselves and their families,” he said. “The UNT is a dynamic organization with members like STRM that are committed to ending the Mexican government’s assault on workers’ rights.”

The plan calls for joint efforts to strengthen labor laws through the International Labor Organization and other global groups. In Mexico, a huge problem for workers are the so-called “protection contracts” that mainly exist to protect employers from having to deal with independent unions. These often are negotiated without the knowledge or consent of Mexican workers.

Other goals of the new plan are protecting and respecting immigrant rights; pushing for changes in NAFTA and its labor side agreements; using trade agreements to push for enforcement of workers’ rights in each country and conducting joint corporate campaigns to give workers real union representation.