Note published in El Economista, Empresas [Companies] Section by María del Pilar Martínez.
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Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest union organization of the United States, said that “it is time to put an end to the exploitation and misery of the maquila industry in Mexico” and a tool to do this is the trade agreement, the USMCA.
Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest union organization of the United States, said that “it is time to put an end to the exploitation and misery of the maquila industry in Mexico” and a tool to do this is the trade agreement, the USMCA; this after giving his full support to union leader Susana Prieto, who has demanded the payment of union dues from the Tridonex company, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
In a press release, Trumka intends to show that there is a constant violation of labor rights and freedom of unionization in Tamaulipas, he said “Mexican workers must earn decent wages and be capable of exercising their rights in the workplace”, and he added that president-elect Joe Biden agrees with AFL-CIO’s approaches.
Workers at Tridonex , a subsidiary of Cardone Industries, based in Philadelphia, manufactures auto parts for the US market. According to Trumka, Tridonex has refused the workers’ lawful request to transfer their union dues to the independent union. Instead, the company continues to support the protection union. Tridonex has fired more than 600 workers who support SNITIS, a union that was created after the workers’ protest in 2019 forced the maquiladoras in Matamoros to increase wages.”
“Tridonex workers suffer at the hands of a corrupt and criminal union leader, protected by the company in order to continue making their salary and general working conditions precarious”, said union leader Susana Prieto.
Consulted in this regard, Héctor de la Cruz, partner at the De la Vega & Martínez Law Firm, said that the AFL-CIO should submit its complaints to the Mexican authorities, “there are mechanisms in place, provided for in the Federal Labor Law as well as the USMCA rapid response mechanisms, through which the defense of the workers’ legal rights could be solved legally.”
Pablo Franco, president of the Union of Jurists of Mexico, said that “it is urgent that the federal government be proactive in regard to the conduct of industries that are opposed to union freedom”, and he pointed out that the Federal Labor Law provides, in Article 149 Ter., that a penalization of one to three years in prison or 150 to 300 days of community work and up to two hundred days as fine can be imposed on anyone who denies or restricts labor rights.
