USW Calls for Stronger Labor Protections, Better Enforcement as USMCA Enters Review

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, [email protected], 412-562-2444

(Pittsburgh) - United Steelworkers (USW) International President Roxanne Brown issued the following statement today as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) comes up for its mandatory six-year review:

"The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was an unmitigated disaster that cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and hollowed out manufacturing communities across the United States.

"With the USMCA, we had an opportunity to begin fixing some of these problems, to improve wages and working conditions in Mexico, and to help end the race to the bottom that ensnared workers across North America.

"Unfortunately, the promise of the USMCA has fallen short, due to Mexico's lax enforcement of labor laws, limited corporate accountability, and continued offshoring of production and jobs to Mexico.

"And while the USMCA's Rapid Response Mechanism for labor violations helped some workers form independent unions, most Mexican workers still struggle to exercise their rights or earn fair wages. This hurts workers across North America as corporations continue to pit them against one another in the hunt for ever greater profits.

"Now, with this review, we have an opportunity to make meaningful improvements to the USMCA. We can strengthen rules of origin and enact real penalties for violations. We can reinforce the Rapid Response Mechanism to help shore up labor rights in Mexico, bringing up wages and ensuring workers have a voice on the job. And we can eliminate corporate loopholes that undermine worker and environmental protections.

"We need an economy that works for everyone, and as we review the USMCA, we must find lasting ways to put workers and their communities first."

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

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