WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released the following statement after United States and Mexico announced a course of remediation that seeks to provide the workers of the General Motors facility in Silao, Mexico with the ability to vote on whether to approve and legitimize their collective bargaining agreement in free and democratic conditions. This will also remediate GM’s initial denial of the right of free association and collective bargaining to workers at the facility. This first course of remediation is a result of the worker-empowering provisions Sens. Brown and Ron Wyden (D-OR) secured through their Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) as part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and reflects the shared intent of the U.S. and Mexico that trade must benefit workers. When corporations are held accountable for treating workers fairly, regardless of where those workers are located, companies no longer have an incentive to move jobs abroad – thereby protecting workers on both sides of the border.

“For decades, Ohioans have seen factories shuttered and their jobs shipped overseas because of trade policies that put corporations first.  I wrote the Brown–Wyden provision to deliver results for American workers, and that’s what it’s doing. To stop the corporate business model that shuts down factories in Ohio and moves jobs overseas, we must raise labor standards in every country we trade with. I’m very encouraged by the work Ambassador Tai is doing, and I look forward to continuing to work with her to create a better trade policy that puts workers first.” 

Brown and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) fought for and successfully secured important provision as part of the USMCA, for the first time, empowering workers to bring cases alleging labor violations at the facility level. The new agreement allows workers in Mexico to report when a company is violating their rights, and see action within months if it’s determined that workers’ rights have been violated. It would also apply punitive damages when corporations stop workers from organizing and stop goods from coming into the U.S. if these anti-worker tactics continue. 

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