United States seeks Mexico’s review of alleged denial of workers’ rights at Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement México/PMI Norteamérica facility

WASHINGTON - The United States has invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in theUnited States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to review whether workers at a floating hotel facility operated in Campeche, Mexico by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Mexico LTD., S. de R.L. de C.V. (BSM) and P.M.I. Norteamérica S.A. de C.V. (PMI NASA) are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. BSM provides ship manning services, including technical and crew management, for Mexican- and foreign-flagged vessels. PMI NASA owns the floating hotel vessels at issue and provides offshore support vessel and ship management services.

Today's action demonstrates the Trump administration's America First approach, which ensures that our trade partners do not undermine worker protections to gain an unfair trade advantage or attract investment.

The Secretary of Labor and the United States Trade Representative co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On November 12, 2025, the ILC received an RRM petition from Orden Mexicana de Profesionales Marítimos y Portuarios, Similares y Conexos (ORDEN), a Mexican independent union. The petition alleges that the companies violated workers' rights by interfering in employees' union activity through threatening and intimidating workers during a forced disembarkation of floating hotel vessels to prevent a lawful strike and dismissing and replacing striking workers in contravention of Mexican law. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.

After conducting this review, the ILC determined that there is sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico to review whether workers at the facility are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review.

The RRM, developed under the first Trump administration, is an unprecedented trade tool that works to level the playing field for American workers and businesses by addressing weak labor law enforcement in Mexican workplaces that compete in trade with the United States.

A copy of the request for review can be found here.

A copy of the letter to the Secretary of the Treasury can be found here.

Information about previous requests can be found here.

Learn more about the department's work to make global competition fair for American workers.