A little over a year ago, GM plant workers in Silao, Mexico voted to oust their notoriously corrupt union in favor of an independent, U.S.-government sponsored union. However, workers allege that the new union is up to the same tricks as the old bunch. That’s not entirely surprising news, despite hope that workers ousting the powerful Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) would promote change.
Those GM workers’ claims – against the new Independent Union of Auto Industry Workers (SINTTIA) – don’t bode well for the ability of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (T-MEC) to squash corruption. Nor does the agreement guarantee that union contracts won’t be “sellouts” that don’t raise wages in pace with inflation. Several of these GM workers report that their wages remain near poverty levels while the union fails to heed worker grievances. Strike pay? Forget about it.
VP Kamala Harris previously pledged $130 million in U.S. funding to help form these independent unions in Mexico (with oversight from the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center) and emphasized a May 2023 goal set for contracts with newly installed independent unions. According to the workers, it’s not going well so far, as echoed by Volkswagen plant workers (in Puebla), who recently rejected their union’s deal with the company while citing disappointment in negotiations for wage increases.
