U.S. Seeks Labor Rights Probe at Goodyear Tire in Mexico

US labor officials at Monday said that they asked Mexico to investigate alleged abuses of labor rights in a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co plant in Mexico in the latest “rapid response” probe under North American trade rules.

The ccomplaint from the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) afterwards independent union of Mexico La Liga petitioned the U.S. government to open a case, argued with Goodyear employees at Located in San Luis Potosí in the central part of the country Offered fewer benefits than available to other workers in Mexico’s rubber sector.

Since the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, known as the USMCA, took effect in 2020, the USTR has launched several labor rights complaints against Mexican automotive facilities, including cases that pave the way for new unions better pay and benefits.

Goodyear workers in San Luis Potosi voted this month to reject their union contract, faced a blow to the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), one of the largest labor organizations in Mexico.

The union faced accusations from Mexican labor authorities that it initially tried to interfere with the process by stealing ballots..

Gonzalo Soto, 25, who worked for five years making Goodyear tires, said newly formed union La Liga will now seek to obtain workers’ representation, aiming to ensure that workers have access to the full benefits promised by law to workers in the Mexican rubber industry.

Soto said he hopes the US investigation will ensure fair treatment of his employer and rival unions, at a time when workers may be vulnerable to intimidation and threats.

“Above all, it makes the voices of the workers heard,” he said. “We are on guard in any case.”

Thea Lee, deputy undersecretary for international affairs at the US Labor Department, in a statement called on Goodyear to treat workers fairly.

Mroodyear said there is little employee attrition at the plant and wages are competitive. The tiremaker added that it will cooperate with the authorities in the US and Mexico to ensure that workers can freely choose their union.

Mexican authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Photo: (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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