WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai released the following statement after workers at a General Motors facility in Silao, Mexico, voted to approve a recently negotiated collective bargaining agreement. The outcome was facilitated by the first Rapid Response Labor Mechanism action by the United States under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in May 2021 to address labor concerns at the GM Silao facility.
“The good faith bargaining between General Motors and the new union at the General Motors facility in Silao has resulted in a collective bargaining agreement that raises wages for workers and demonstrates the significant benefits of true collective bargaining. Because of the ground-breaking labor protections in the USMCA, we’ve seen that workers no longer have to tolerate contracts negotiated behind their backs and have the right to vote on an agreement after it's negotiated. The USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism helped workers get to this vote, and the United States will continue to work with Mexico to protect worker rights.”
This vote comes after workers at the facility rejected the previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA) last August and chose a new union in February to represent them in CBA negotiations. The August vote occurred pursuant to a detailed course of remediation negotiated by the United States and Mexico.
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