Mexican Government Asks United States To Respond To Alleged NAFTA Violations
For Immediate Release:
December 12, 2007
Contacts:
Laura K. Abel, Brennan Center for Justice (212) 998–6737
Maggie Barron, Brennan Center for Justice (212) 998–6153
Michael Dale, Northwest Workers’ Justice Project (503) 525–8454
MEXICAN GOVERNMENT ASKS UNITED STATES TO RESPOND TO ALLEGED NAFTA VIOLATIONS RELATING TO TREATMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS
New York, New York –
Mexico has formally asked the United States to respond to a complaint
filed by sixteen Latin American workers employed in Oregon, Washington
and other states about the United States’ alleged failure to comply
with a portion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico alleges the U.S. failed to protect the labor rights of Mexican
nationals legally working in the U.S. on “H2-B” nonagricultural work
visas. The workers filed the complaint under the labor side agreement
to NAFTA known as the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation
(NAALC) . The workers complain of suffering brutal physical injury,
stolen wages, unsafe housing, being wrongly classified as
non-agricultural workers (which deprived them of important labor
protections), and being denied access to the civil legal aid they need
to seek redress.
In response to the workers’ complaint, the
Mexican government has asked the United States Department of Labor
sixty-nine sets of detailed questions regarding the extent to which the
workers have access to legal assistance, and the extent to which state
and federal laws, courts and agencies protect the employment rights of
H2-B workers. For example, the Mexican government asks how many H2-B
workers have complained of violations of their labor rights, how state
and federal agencies investigate those complaints, how H2-B workers are
able to access free legal aid, and how the government ensures that they
are not subjected to forced labor.
Edgar Peña, one of the
plaintiffs in the case, told how he and three other workers left their
homes and families in Mexico and traveled to Colorado because a corn
grower promised to pay at least $6.26 an hour for five months of work
in food processing. However, once they arrived, the workers were
offered only sporadic employment in agricultural field work for two and
a half weeks. For some of that time they earned only an average of
$2.12 per hour, far below both the wage they had been promised and the
legally binding minimum wage.
The workers bringing the
complaints have substantial support in the U.S. and Mexico. Five U.S.
organizations and six Mexican organizations have joined their
complaint. Representing the workers and the supporting organizations
are Laura Abel, Deputy Director at the Brennan Center for Justice at
NYU School of Law; Michael Dale, Executive Director of the Northwest
Workers’ Justice Project in Portland, Oregon; Bill Beardall, Executive
Director of the Texas-based Equal Justice Center; and Maria Andrade of
the Andrade Law Office of Boise, Idaho.
The workers brought
their complaint in Mexico because the governing treaty provides that
aggrieved workers can complaint to any of the signatory nations other
than the one charged with violating the treaty. The treaty guarantees
migrant workers who are in the U.S. legally the ability to enforce
their labor rights, access to courts, and fair enforcement
proceedings. As part of a reciprocal agreement with Mexico and Canada,
the U.S. is required to provide migrant workers with the same workplace
protections as native-born workers.
Once the U.S. government
responds to the Mexican government’s questions, Mexico will decide
whether to pursue additional mechanisms in NAALC to ensure U.S.
compliance. Those mechanisms could include holding public hearings in
the U.S. and Mexico, retaining an expert and/or convening a panel of
experts, and consultations with the U.S. and Canadian Secretaries of
Labor.
Visit the following links for more information on the case.
General background
NAALC Fact Sheet
Mexican workers’ stories
Mexican docket (search for Brenan with one “n”)