The future of the USMCA is in Silao; and there has already been a ‘clash’ in the union voting process

Note published on August 16 in El Financiero, Economía [Economy] Section by Editorial Department.
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In the midst of mutual accusations of corruption between the General Motors Union and its dissenters, of a war of false information, as well as complaints of interference by the 4T and by foreign union organizations, the 6 thousand 400 workers of the Silao, Guanajuato automotive plant will vote on August 17 and 18 of this year on whether they are in agreement with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CCT) or not.

Workers of this establishment are being intimidated by being told that if they vote ‘No’ to the CCT, GM will take its production to another country or that they will lose their salaries and labor benefits, although experts warn that this is false.

This is the second time in which they are voting for the legitimation of the CCT, as the vote conducted in April was invalidated by the Department of Labor due to denouncements of strong irregularities during the first voting process and, therefore, the “Miguel Trujillo López” union was ordered to conduct the voting process once again.

The CTM states that the ‘hidden hand’ of the 4T government is present because it wants to control the union. Additionally, it demands that interference by foreign unions in the country be stopped.

Yesterday, the union demanded that the authorities postpone the date of the voting process in face of the level of Covid contagions, which could put the health of participants at risk.

Óscar de la Vega, a lawyer at the De la Vega & Martínez Rojas Firm, explained in an interview that the USMCA came and changed the rules of unionism in the country.

He said that it is in the best interest of Mexico to fulfill its obligations relating to the labor chapter of the treaty. For unions, this means that they must reinvent themselves. If they do not do so, they run the risk of disappearing.

The INE [National Electoral Institute] will issue an objective and impartial report on the election, as a repetition of the process after the irregularities detected in the one conducted in the month of April, complying with the clauses of union democracy established in the USMCA, said Lorenzo Córdova, presiding director, by means of a message issued in social media.