U.S. asks Mexico to review possible labor violations at Stellantis plant

The United States has lodged a fourth complaint asking the country of Mexico to investigate potential employee rights violations at a Stellantis-owned plant there. The facility under security is the Teksid Hierro de Mexico, which is located near Coahuila and has around 1,500 employees. 

According to a press release from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. is asking for “a review of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights issues under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism.” 

Workers at the iron casting production plant have complained that Stellantis has prohibited them from joining the Miners Union and even terminated employees who support the union. They allege they were denied their rights “in connection with an invalid contract with the Confederation of Mexican Workers,” which did not respond to requests for comment.  

The USTR reviewed a petition from various unions and organizations in early May and found that “there is sufficient credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms.”

If a formal investigation determines that labor rights are being violated, the factory’s tariff-free status could be revoked per the terms of the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Stellantis’s response to the allegations was that the automaker “respects and supports the collective bargaining rights of its employees around the world and will comply with all local laws in that regard.”

Mexico is required to either approve or deny the U.S.’s request within 10 days. If it is approved, the review must be completed by July 22. 

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