The UAW union plans to give Mexican independent unions and workers support with unspecified “resources” as a part of a cross-border solidarity project.
The UAW noted in its press release that Mexican workers have seen their conditions deteriorate since the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, was signed, asserting that Mexican automotive production wages have dropped sharply while the number of workers now stands at approximately 700 percent of the figure pre-NAFTA.
The union says it will support efforts of the Mexican auto workforce to attain “economic justice and improved working conditions.” At the same time, it stresses improved conditions in Mexico will aid American workers in the sector as well. It asserted that “corporations use the threat of offshoring jobs as a cudgel to beat back worker discontent and organizing efforts in the U.S.” as the flip side of the situation.
Even before the UAW got involved, unions established themselves at the major GM plants in Mexico. Employees at the GM Silao Assembly plant voted to dispense with union representation by the Confederation of Mexican Workers. After this, a 78-percent majority voted in the independent SINTTIA union early in 2022.
Three months later, in May 2022, GM reached an agreement with SINTTIA at Silao for a wage increase higher than the inflation rate, specifically 8.5 percent. This was significantly higher than GM’s initial 3.5-percent wage hike offer, with inflation at roughly 7.7 percent at the time. The following year, 2023, SINTTIA extracted a 10 percent raise from The General, said to be among the largest wage increases ever given to Mexican auto workers.
Meanwhile, the workforce at the GM Ramos Arizpe plant in northern Mexico voted to keep the Confederation of Mexican Workers instead. GM later decided to switch the Ramos Arizpe plant over to 100 percent EV production by sometime in 2024.
GM has invested over $1 billion in Ramos Arizpe to ready it for production of electric vehicles using the automaker’s Ultium architecture.
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