Submissions under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC)

This submission was filed by the United Electrical, Radio, and machine Workers (UE) against a subsidiary of the General Electric Corporation in Mexico. The UE withdrew the submission on January 25, 1995, prior to the completion of the review process.

• Original Submission

These submissions were filed on February 14, 1994, by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) respectively. The submissions concerned the operations of subsidiaries of the Honeywell Corporation and the General Electric Corporation in Mexico. Both submissions alleged that workers had been deprived of their freedom of association insofar as they had not been permitted to organize into the unions of their choice. Both cases were accepted for review by the NAO on April 15, 1994.

Information was collected and a joint hearing was conducted by the NAO on the two submissions on September 12, 1994. In its Public Report issued on October 12, 1994, the NAO concluded that the information was insufficient to establish that the Government of Mexico failed to enforce its labor laws. Accordingly, the NAO did not recommend ministerial consultations. Nevertheless, acknowledging the strong concerns raised in the allegations with regard to the freedom of association and the right to organize of workers, the NAO recommended that the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, develop joint cooperative programs to address these issues.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission (Honeywell)
• Original Submission (GE)

This submission was filed on August 16, 1994, by four workers' rights and human rights organizations, headed by the International Labor Rights Education and Research Fund (ILRERF). The submission concerned the operations of a subsidiary of the Sony Corporation in Mexico and involved allegations concerning freedom of association and the right to organize plus minimum employment standards. Following the information gathering process and the conduct of a public hearing on February 13, 1995, the NAO issued a report on April 11, 1995, recommending ministerial consultations on the issue of union registration in Mexico. The ministers reached an agreement on implementation of ministerial consultations, which included a series of programs designed to publicly address these concerns in all three countries, and these were completed during 1995 and 1996.

The submitters in the case subsequently requested that the Ministerial Consultations be reopened, arguing that the problems raised in the original submission continued. The Secretary of Labor directed the NAO to conduct a follow-up review of the issues raised in the submission, and a related Mexican Supreme Court Decision, and submit a report to him. The NAO conducted the follow-up review as directed and a report was issued on December 4, 1996.

• Report of Review
• Follow-up Report
• Original Submission

This submission was filed with the Mexican NAO on February 9,1995, by the Mexican Telephone Workers Union and concerned the closure of a subsidiary of the Sprint Corporation in San Francisco shortly before a union representation election was scheduled to take place. About 240 workers lost their jobs. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed an unfair labor practice case with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Mexican NAO reviewed the submission and issued a public report on May 31, 1995, requesting ministerial consultations on the effects of such a plant closure on union organizing efforts. As part of the Ministerial Consultations Agreement between the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare, the U.S. Department of Labor held a public forum in San Francisco, California to allow interested persons an opportunity to convey their concerns about the effects of sudden plant closings. The Labor Secretaries further instructed the trinational Labor Secretariat to conduct a study on the effects of sudden plant closing on the principle of freedom of association and the right of workers to organize in the three countries. The study was completed and released on June 9, 1997. On December 27, 1996, the NLRB ordered Sprint to reinstate the dismissed workers and awarded them back pay. The Sprint Corp. appealed this decision to the Federal Courts. On November 25, 1997, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the NLRB and ruled that Sprint closed the facility for legitimate financial reasons.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission

This submission was filed with the U.S. NAO on June 13, 1996. It was submitted by three labor rights - human rights groups: the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), Human Rights Watch/Americas (HRW), and the Mexican National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAD). The submission raised issues of freedom of association for federal workers and questioned the impartiality of the labor tribunals reviewing these issues.

U.S. NAO Submission 9601 was accepted for review on July 29. A hearing was conducted on December 3, 1996, at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. A report, recommending ministerial consultations on the status of international treaties and constitutional provisions protecting freedom of association, was issued on January 27, 1997. Pursuant to the consultations, the Departments of Labor of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. agreed to exchange sufficient publicly available information to permit a full examination of the issues raised in the submission. This included a seminar, open to the public, which was held in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 4, 1997.

On December 3, 1997, the submitters filed a request for reconsideration on the ground that some of the issues raised in the original submission were not adequately addressed by the NAO in its report. The NAO declined this request on the ground that the issues raised had been adequately reviewed.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission

This submission was filed with the U.S. NAO by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the Union of Telephone Workers of Mexico (STRM), and the Federation of Goods and Services Companies (FESEBS) of Mexico on October 11, 1996. This submission raised issues of freedom of association for workers attempting to organize a union at a facility owned by Maxi-Switch, S.A. de C.V., in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. The company produces and markets high-tech keyboards for computers and computer games and is owned by Silitek Corporation of Taiwan.

The NAO accepted this submission for review on December 10, 1996. A hearing was scheduled to be held in Tucson, Arizona, on April 18, 1997. On April 16 the submitters informed the NAO that the issues raised in the submission had come to a favorable resolution and that they were withdrawing the submission.

• Original Submission

This submission was filed on May 16, 1997, by Human Rights Watch, the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), and the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAD) of Mexico. The submission raised issues of gender-based discrimination in Mexico's export processing (maquiladora) industry. The submission contained allegations that the companies, many of which are subsidiaries of U.S. companies, regularly require female job applicants to verify their pregnancy status as a condition of employment and deny employment to pregnant women. Additionally, the submission included allegations that some maquiladora employers mistreat and/or discharge pregnant employees in order to avoid payment of maternity benefits. The U.S. NAO accepted the submission for review on July 14, 1997 and a public hearing was conducted in Brownsville, Texas, on November 19, 1997.

The NAO issued its Public Report of Review on the submission on January 12, 1998, recommending ministerial level consultations for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of the protections against pregnancy-based gender discrimination afforded by Mexico's laws and their effective enforcement by the appropriate authorities.

A Ministerial Consultations Implementation Agreement was signed on October 21, 1998, and the three parties agreed to meet and confer on the issues raised in submission 9701 as well as coordinate a conference. As part of the agreement, Mexico and the United States also agreed to conduct outreach sessions to educate workers close to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pursuant to the Ministerial Consultations Implementation Agreement, on March 1-2, 1999, the Protecting the Labor Rights of Working Women conference was held in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. This conference served as a forum to discuss the laws and programs that protect the employment rights of women in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Representatives from the Mexican Department of Labor stated that federal labor law in Mexico prohibits employers from denying workers employment for reasons of age or sex. Mexican officials announced that employment discrimination, both pre- and post-hire, on the basis of gender and pregnancy is illegal under Mexican law.

As follow-up to this conference, on August 17-18, 1999, the United States and Mexico held individual outreach sessions in McAllen, Texas and Reynosa, Tamaulipas to educate women workers about their rights in the workplace. These events along the U.S. - Mexico border provided women workers and employers the opportunity to learn about workers' legal protections and employer obligations in the workplace. Mexico held a second outreach session in Puebla, Mexico on May 30, 2000.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission
• Ministerial Agreement

This submission was filed on October 30, 1997 by the Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers (SCMW), the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAD) of Mexico, and the Union of Metal, Steel, Iron, and Allied Workers (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Metálica, Acero, Hierro, Conexos y Similares - STIHMACS) of Mexico. An amendment detailing safety and health issues was submitted on February 9, 1998. The amendment was filed by the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network, Worksafe of Southern California, the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW).

Submission 9702 raised primarily freedom of association issues involving workers at the Han Young export processing (maquiladora) plant in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The submitters alleged that workers at the plant who attempted to organize a union were intimidated and threatened by the company and some of the workers were fired. Han Young has since transferred its operations to another location.

The NAO accepted the submission for review on November 17, 1997. A public hearing was held in San Diego, California, on February 18, 1998. The U.S. NAO issued a public report on April 28, 1998 recommending ministerial level consultations to discuss strategies being considered by the Government of Mexico to ensure that workers' freedom of association and right to bargain collectively are protected.

Submission 9702 also raised issues of the health and safety of the workers employed at the Han Young plant. These issues were addressed in a separate report issued on August 6, 1998. In this report, the NAO recommended ministerial level consultations on the safety and health issues raised.

The U.S. Secretary of Labor and the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare signed a ministerial agreement for U.S. NAO Submission Nos. 9702 and 9703 on May 18, 2000. Under this agreement, the Government of Mexico held a public seminar on June 23, 2000, in Tijuana on the principles of freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively.

As part of the ministerial agreement, the Mexican Department of Labor and Social Welfare will continue promoting the registry of collective bargaining contracts in conformity with established labor legislation. Mexico also has agreed to conduct a trilateral seminar to discuss law and practice governing Mexican labor boards, including the rules and procedures to assure their impartiality. In addition, U.S. and Mexican experts will participate in a government-to-government meeting concerning the occupational safety and health issues raised in the two submissions.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission
• Ministerial Agreement

This submission was filed on December 15, 1997, by the Echlin Workers Alliance, a group of unions from the United States and Canada, which includes the Teamsters; the United Auto workers; the Canadian Auto Workers; UNITE; the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America; the Paperworkers; and the Steelworkers. Twenty-four additional organizations, including non-governmental organizations, human rights groups and labor unions from the three NAFTA countries, are cited as concerned organizations in the submission. Subsequently, the AFL-CIO, the CLC (of Canada), and the UNT (of Mexico) joined the submission.

The submission alleged violation of freedom of association at the Itapsa export processing plant in Ciudad de los Reyes, in the State of Mexico. The submitters alleged that when workers at the facility attempted to organize an independent union, they faced intimidation and harassment from the company and the existing union, the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), including threats of physical violence and job loss. The submitters alleged that Mexican government authorities are aware of the situation and have taken no remedial action.

In terms of occupational safety and health, the submission alleged that workers were exposed to asbestos and other toxic substances without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

The NAO accepted this submission for review on January 30, 1998. A public hearing was held in Washington, D.C. on March 23, 1998. The NAO issued its public report on this submission on July 31, 1998, recommending ministerial level consultations on the freedom of association and the safety and health issues raised.

On May 18, 2000, the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare signed a ministerial agreement for U.S. NAO Submission Nos. 9702 and 9703. As part of the agreement, Mexico will make efforts to promote that workers be provided information pertaining to collective bargaining agreements existing in their place of employment and to promote the use of eligible voter lists and secret ballot elections in disputes over the right to hold the collective bargaining contract.

Under the ministerial agreement, the Government of Mexico held a public seminar on June 23, 2000, in Tijuana on the principles of freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively. Mexico also has agreed to conduct a trilateral seminar to discuss law and practice governing Mexican labor boards, including the rules and procedures to assure their impartiality. In addition, U.S. and Mexican experts will participate in a government-to-government meeting concerning the occupational safety and health issues raised in the two submissions.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission
• Ministerial Agreement

This submission was filed with the Mexican NAO on September 22, 1998 and accepted for review on November 23, 1998. The submission was filed by a group of immigration rights and union organizations headed by the Yale Law School Workers' Rights Project. The submission argues that the U.S. fails to enforce its existing minimum wage and overtime protections in workplaces employing foreign nationals due to the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which delineated enforcement responsibilities and provided for sharing of information. The U.S. Department of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued a revised Memorandum of Understanding on November 23, 1998 to more clearly delineate the enforcement roles and responsibilities of the departments. The Mexican NAO issued its Public Report of Review and formally requested ministerial consultations on October 30, 2000. The U.S. Secretary of Labor formally accepted the request for ministerial consultations on January 30, 2002. Consistent with the Ministerial Consultations Joint Declaration signed June 11, 2002 by Secretaries Chao and Abascal, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to undertake a series of efforts to address the issues raised in Mexico NAO Submission 9804, which include: Development of informational materials by DOL addressing workplace rights of migrant workers in the United States. Materials such as brochures, pamphlets, and videos are to be produced in Spanish and are to be disseminated in areas of highest concentration of migrant workers in the United States. Promotion of ongoing collaboration between the governments for the replication throughout the United States of model efforts to promote the protection of labor rights of migrant workers

• Report of Review
• Original Submission