Workers at the GM Ramos Arizpe plant in northern Mexico have voted to keep their current union contract with the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), one of the largest labor unions in Mexico.
According to a recent report from Reuters, workers at the GM Ramos Arizpe facility voted overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the current CTM contract, with thousands of votes cast last Thursday and Friday. Contract ratification votes are a requirement of Mexico’s 2019 labor reform as part of the latest trade deal between between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. The ratification measures are in place to ensure workers are not restricted by contracts that may impede their ability to negotiate for higher wages and benefits.
According to the CTM, 94 percent of the 1,379 votes cast in the global propulsion system area of the GM Ramos Arizpe facility voted in favor of the current contract, while 96 percent of the 2,657 votes cast in the greater assembly area of the plant voted in favor of the existing contract. Over 4,500 employees were eligible to vote.
The GM Ramos Arizpe production facility is located in Arizpe, Coahuila, and spans nearly 30 million square feet. First opening in 1981, the facility currently produces the Chevy Equinox and Chevy Blazer.
The overwhelming support for the CTM at the GM Ramos Arizpe plant stands in contrast to the results of a vote held earlier this year at the GM Silao Plant in Mexico, which resulted in ousting of the CTM in favor of the independent SINTTIA union. Prior to the vote held in February, the CTM had represented workers at the Silao plant for more than 25 years.
Prior to the vote at the GM Silao facility, the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union in the U.S. called on Mexican authorities to make sure that the vote went ahead in a fair and democratic fashion. Several U.S. lawmakers also called attention to the vote. Concerns were raised following the revelation of voting irregularities in a prior union vote held last April.
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