GM workers in Mexico defeat union in first test of US trade deal - Reuters

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The General Motors plant is seen as its workers are to vote on whether to reject or keep the collective bargaining agreement, marking the first major test of labor rules under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in Silao, Mexico August 17, 2021. REUTERS/Sergio Maldonado

MEXICO CITY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Workers at a General Motors pickup plant in the central Mexican city of Silao have voted to scrap their collective contract, opening the door for them to oust one of Mexico's largest labor organizations as their union in a historic move.

The vote marked the first test of labor rules under a new trade deal that replaced the 1994 North American Free Agreement (NAFTA), with a series of safeguards agreed by Mexico and the United States to ensure a fair vote.

An initial vote in April was suspended after Mexico's labor ministry found irregularities in the union-led process, prompting the United States to lodge the first complaint under the labor enforcement mechanism of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Of 5,876 GM employees who cast ballots in the Tuesday-Wednesday vote, 3,214 workers rejected the bargaining agreement while 2,623 workers voted to keep it, the labor ministry said in a statement.

Many workers who campaigned for the "no" vote said their current union did not fight hard enough for better salaries at the plant that produces thousands of profitable pickup trucks a year. read more

The ballot count was led by the plant's Miguel Trujillo Lopez union - part of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) - alongside observers from the Labor Ministry, Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE) and the United Nations' International Labour Organization (ILO).

Neither the union nor GM immediately replied to requests for comment.

Such votes are required at unionized workplaces across Mexico under a labor reform that underpins USMCA labor rules and is geared at eliminating so-called sweetheart contracts between business-friendly unions and companies.

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Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Dave Graham

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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GM workers in Mexico defeat union in first test of US trade deal - Reuters
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