Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Volkswagen.
Dive Brief:
- U.S. trade authorities have asked the government of Mexico to review findings that workers’ rights were denied at a Volkswagen assembly plant in Puebla, according to a Tuesday press release.
- The request follows an April 25 petition filed by 10 workers who allege they were wrongfully dismissed by Volkswagen Mexico after a recent union election. The fired workers were members of the outgoing leadership committee of the Independent Union of Workers of the Automotive, Similar and Related Industries Volkswagen de Mexico.
- Co-chaired by the Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement found “sufficient and credible evidence” workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights were denied and initiated the review request, the release said.
Dive Insight:
Mexico’s government has 10 days to decide whether to conduct a review and 45 days to investigate the claims and present its findings, according to the release.
“We are deeply concerned by the alleged violations of freedom of association against 10 union members at the Volkswagen plant in Puebla given its historically important role in Mexico’s economy and the nation’s independent trade union movement,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee in the release. “Retaliating against workers for their union activities violates the workers’ basic and fundamental rights that the USMCA protects.”
In a statement to Automotive Dive, Volkswagen said it received notice of the claims regarding its Puebla plant on May 28. The automaker declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but noted it is fully cooperating with government entities investigating the claims in the U.S. and Mexico.
"Volkswagen respects its employees’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining and has a strong history of working productively with labor unions globally," the company said in the statement.
The Volkswagen Mexico plant in Puebla — the country’s largest and longest operating auto factory — employs about 6,100 assembly line workers, 5,000 supervisory or trusted employees and thousands of parts-assembly workers, the release continued. It manufactures 2,300 vehicles per day across six models. In 2023, Volkswagen exported more than 300,000 of these vehicles, including 67% to the U.S.
In other union news, Volkswagen plant workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted to join the United Auto Workers last month. In a historic win for the UAW, more than 2,600 workers voted in favor of unionizing, winning the election with a 73% margin.
Prior to the election, Volkswagen was accused of unfair labor practices after workers at the Tennessee facility claimed they faced retaliation from management for rallying their coworkers to join the union and signing union cards to show their support.
