MEXICO CITY — The United States said Tuesday it has filed a labor complaint after Mexico refused to act on alleged union-busting by a Mexican company.
Mexican authorities acknowledged that abuses had taken place at the call center in the central state of Hidalgo, but they claimed the company had taken sufficient corrective measures. The USTR said it did not agree with that assessment.In many cases in Mexico, old-guard, pro-company unions negotiated “paper” contracts behind the backs of workers. So the fight is to get a new, more democratic union into workplaces.
Old-guard unions, in cahoots with companies, would often threaten workers with dismissal or loss of benefits if they chose an independent union. They would also hold voice votes, if they held any at all. When forced to participate in secret-ballot votes, the old-guard unions sometimes stole the ballot boxes if they felt they were losing.