Panasonic Plant in Mexico Targeted in USMCA Rapid Response Complaint

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Panasonic Automotive Systems de Mexico facility in Reynosa are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining. By doing so, USTR is endorsing an April 18 request from Rethink Trade and a Mexican union that was, at the time, trying to win a union vote at the factory (see 2204200029). The two groups' complaint said Panasonic fired more than 60 workers who supported the independent union, and the alternative union, Confederacion de Trabajadores de Mexico (CTM), was offering bribes to workers to get their votes. They also said Panasonic signed a contract with CTM before the vote, and started withholding union dues almost a month before the vote. Tai asked for the review under the USMCA's Rapid Response Mechanism. “Along with Secretary Marty Walsh and his team at the Department of Labor, we have worked closely with the Mexican government to address Rapid Response Labor Mechanism matters quickly, and I look forward to doing the same on this issue as well,” Tai said in a news release May 18. Liquidation will be suspended for imports from the factory until the complaint is resolved. The Mexican Embassy didn't return a request for comment.