AFL-CIO, SNITIS, Public Citizen, SEIU File Complaint Under the Rapid Response Mechanism in USMCA – IFPTE Weighs-In

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), representing upwards of 90,000 workers in Canada and the United States, issued the following statement in response to today’s complaint filed under the United States- Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) Rapid Response process:

IFPTE strongly supports today’s action by the AFL-CIO, independent Mexican union Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadores de Industrias y de Servicios Movimiento 20/32 (SNITIS), SEIU, and Public Citizen to challenge egregious labor violations in Mexico’s automobile industry.

IFPTE stands in solidarity with the courageous auto workers in Mexico and Susana Prieto Terrazas, a labor lawyer and champion for workers who herself has been jailed by Mexican authorities for advocating for workers’ rights, and who also represents the workers who have been denied basic labor protections promised by the three countries covered by USMCA. 

All working people have a stake in this issue. This action creates a clear opportunity for the Biden Administration to deliver on the promise made in USMCA to take labor rights seriously, and raise living standards in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

The Rapid Response Mechanism in USMCA can be an effective tool to deal with labor violations such as are occurring with these auto workers. IFPTE looks forward to a positive timely outcome in this case, which would then stand as a model for other enforcement actions.

See the joint AFL-CIO, SNITIS, Public Citizen, SEIU press release here.

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Download IFPTE’s press release on the USMCA Rapid Response complaint here [PDF].