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Steelworkers File NAFTA Labor Complaint Against Mexico
For Immediate Release November 8, 2006
Washington, D.C. - The United Steelworkers (USW) today charged that the government of Mexico violated the NAFTA labor side agreement when it removed the leader of the National Mineworkers’ Union from office.
In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Labor under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), the USW accuses Mexican labor authorities of violating both Mexican and international law when they withdrew legal recognition from the Mexican union leader, Napoleon Gómez Urrutia, in February. The USW also accuses Mexico of failing to carry out safety inspections at the Pasta de Conchos mine, where an explosion killed 65 mineworkers on February 17.
“The Mexican government saw Napoleon Gómez as a threat because he fought successfully for higher wages, because he engaged in international solidarity, and because he challenged the government-controlled labor federations,” said Steelworkers president Leo W. Gerard. “They decided to use any means necessary to eliminate that threat.”
The USW, which represents 850,000 industrial workers in the United States and Canada | 
2006 RELEASES AND ADVISORIES
