WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced that the United States has, for a fourth time, requested a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) panel under the United-States Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The panel pertains to a labor dispute at a facility operated by Pirelli Neumáticos, S.A. de C.V. in the Silao de la Victoria municipality in the state of Guanajuato.
Today’s announcement follows a request for review that the United States sent to Mexico on August 23, 2024 asking Mexico to review whether workers at the facility, which converts rubber into car tires, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
In at least 22 cases to date, the United States and Mexico have been able to cooperate to successfully address labor rights violations at the Mexican facilities in question. We are not able to do so in this matter, however, and the United States therefore has determined that it is appropriate to request a panel to verify the facility’s compliance with Mexican labor laws.
“This announcement highlights the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to empowering workers and holding corporations accountable,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “The RRM is a critical enforcement tool for defending workers’ collective bargaining rights. While we remain committed to collaborating with the Government of Mexico to find a resolution, our priority is the application of the sectoral agreement covering the rubber industry at Pirelli and the full protection of workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining at the facility.”
“Under Mexican law, workers in the tire sector are entitled to wages and benefits as set in the sector-wide agreement, as well as to robust protection of their rights to organize and bargain collectively,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs Thea Lee. “In this case, we are moving to the dispute settlement panel process and will continue dialogue with the government of Mexico. This is to ensure that Pirelli workers are fairly compensated consistent with the sector-wide agreement and enjoy the union protections owed to them under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the federal labor law.”
Background
The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On July 23, 2024 the ILC received a RRM petition from Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana (LSOM), International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW Network), United Steelworkers (USW), and American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) alleging a denial of rights at Pirelli Neumáticos, S.A. de C.V. (the Facility), which converts rubber into car tires in the Silao de Victoria municipality in the state of Guanajuato. The petition alleged that Pirelli has not abided by the provisions in the sectoral collective bargaining agreement (contrato ley) covering the rubber industry and instead signed a singular CBA with benefits inferior to those in the contrato ley. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.
The ILC, in response to the petition, determined that there was sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the United States Trade Representative submitted a request to Mexico that Mexico review whether workers at Pirelli were being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mexico had 10 days to decide whether to accept the U.S. request for review and, having agreed to do so, 45 days to complete the review.
At the conclusion of its 45-day review period, Mexico issued a report finding no Denial of Rights at the Facility. By contrast, the United States considers the Denial of Rights to be ongoing and therefore is requesting establishment of an RRM panel to review the situation.
A copy of the panel request can be found here.
