Submissions under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC)

This submission was filed with the Canadian NAO on April 14, 1999 by the Labor Policy Association and EFCO Corporation. The submission concerns the United States and its enforcement of section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act. On June 15, 1999 the Canadian NAO declined to accept the submission for review. The submitters filed an appeal on June 15, 1999.

This submission was filed on November 10, 1999 by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and the Association of Flight Attendants of Mexico (ASSA).

The submission raises concerns about freedom of association, minimum employment standards, and occupational safety and health at the privately owned Mexican airline company, Executive Air Transport, Inc. (TAESA). Specifically, the submitters allege that the union election process at TAESA inhibited flight attendants' right to organize and bargain collectively and in the end, led to the dismissal of those workers who voted for ASSA. The submitters also allege that the Mexican government failed to enforce compliance of minimum labor standards, including payment of overtime and mandatory contributions for social security, pensions, and housing. In terms of occupational safety and health, the submitters allege that TAESA provided inadequate safety training, unsafe flight conditions, and forced flight attendants to work more than the maximum number of permitted hours in flight.

On January 7, 2000, the NAO accepted the submission for review. A public hearing was held in Washington, D.C. on March 23, 2000. The NAO issued its public report on this submission on July 7, 2000, recommending ministerial consultations. The U.S. Secretary of Labor formally requested ministerial consultations on July 17, 2000. The Mexican Secretary of Labor formally accepted the request for ministerial consultations on July 24, 2001.

Consistent with the Ministerial Consultations Joint Declaration signed June 11, 2002 by Secretaries Chao and Abascal, the U.S. and Mexico will undertake a series of efforts to address the issues raises in U.S. Submission 9901. This will include a public seminar to be held in Mexico regarding the different types of unions in each country (e.g. craft or guild unions, company-wide unions, sector or industry unions) and their relevant rights related to freedom of association and collective bargaining, in a public seminar.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission

This submission was filed with the Canadian NAO on April 6, 1998. The submission raises concerns about the enforcement of labor legislation covering occupational safety and health and freedom of association of workers at the Itapsa export processing plant in Ciudad de los Reyes, in the State of Mexico. The submission was filed by the Canadian Office of the United Steelworkers of America, in concert with eleven other unions and 31 concerned organizations from the three NAFTA countries. The issues raised in the submission are substantially the same raised in U.S. NAO Submission 9703. The Canadian NAO accepted this submission for review on June 4, 1998, and held two public meetings to obtain information on September 14, 1998 and November 5. 1998. On December 11, 1998 the Canadian NAO issued the first part of their report addressing specifically the freedom of association issues raised in the submission. The second report addressing occupational safety and health issues was released on March 12, 1999. Canada formally requested ministerial consultations with Mexico on both issues on March 31, 1999.

• Report of Review (Part 1)
• Report of Review (Part 2)
• Original Submission

This submission was filed on August 17, 1998, by the Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO. The submission raised issues of freedom of association related to a strike by flight attendants employed by Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. (Aeroméxico) on May 31-June 1, 1998. The submitter argued that the Government of Mexico took over operations of that company when the union began a legal strike, therefore compelling the workers to return to work or face possible replacement.

In accordance with its procedural guidelines, the NAO declined to accept the submission for review on October 19, 1998, however it agreed to undertake a research project to evaluate how the three NAALC countries reconcile the issue of the right to strike with national interests of safety, security, and general welfare.

• ILAB Decision Letter
• Original Submission

This submission was filed by the Florida Tomato Exchange on September 28, 1998, and raised the issue of the use of child labor in the production of fruit and vegetables in Mexico. In accordance with its procedural guidelines, the NAO held this submission in abeyance for a year for the submitters to provide further information. No additional information was provided and the case was closed as of October 4, 1999.

This submission was filed on October 19, 1998 by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters Canada, the Quebec Federation of Labor, Teamsters Local 973 (Montreal), and the International Labor Rights Fund.

Submission 9803 raised issues of anti-union motivated plant closing; delays in the union certification procedure; and problems related to the certification process in cases involving multiple employers or multiple business locations based on the franchise system of corporate ownership. The issues arose from efforts to organize employees of a McDonald's restaurant in the city of St.-Hubert, Quebec, Canada.

The NAO accepted the submission for review on December 18, 1998. Pursuant to the request of the submitters, the NAO ended its review on April 21, 1999 after consultations with the Canadian NAO and the government of Quebec. The submitting labor organizations reached an agreement with the government of Quebec to have the issues of sudden and anti-union motivated plant closings raised in the submission studied by a provincial council.

• Original Submission

This submission was filed on December 2, 1998 with the U.S. NAO by the Organization of Rural Route Mail Couriers, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, National Association of Letter Carriers, and several other labor organizations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The submission raised concerns about the Canada Post Corporation Act, which includes a provision that denies rural route mail couriers the right to bargain collectively. The submitters alleged that rural route mail couriers do not have adequate protection for occupational injuries and illnesses and protection against employment discrimination.

In accordance with procedural guidelines, on February 1, 1999 the NAO declined to accept the submission for review.

• Original Submission

This submission was filed with the Mexican NAO on September 22, 1998 and accepted for review on November 23, 1998. The submission was filed by a group of immigration rights and union organizations headed by the Yale Law School Workers' Rights Project. The submission argues that the U.S. fails to enforce its existing minimum wage and overtime protections in workplaces employing foreign nationals due to the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which delineated enforcement responsibilities and provided for sharing of information. The U.S. Department of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued a revised Memorandum of Understanding on November 23, 1998 to more clearly delineate the enforcement roles and responsibilities of the departments. The Mexican NAO issued its Public Report of Review and formally requested ministerial consultations on October 30, 2000. The U.S. Secretary of Labor formally accepted the request for ministerial consultations on January 30, 2002. Consistent with the Ministerial Consultations Joint Declaration signed June 11, 2002 by Secretaries Chao and Abascal, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to undertake a series of efforts to address the issues raised in Mexico NAO Submission 9804, which include: Development of informational materials by DOL addressing workplace rights of migrant workers in the United States. Materials such as brochures, pamphlets, and videos are to be produced in Spanish and are to be disseminated in areas of highest concentration of migrant workers in the United States. Promotion of ongoing collaboration between the governments for the replication throughout the United States of model efforts to promote the protection of labor rights of migrant workers

• Report of Review
• Original Submission

This submission was filed on August 4, 1998 by the Mexican Confederation of Labor (CTM). The submission raises issues of protection for migrant workers, employment discrimination, safety and health, and worker's compensation. The submission was accepted for review by the Mexican NAO on August 5, 1998. On December 3, 1999 the Mexican NAO issued its public report of review and recommended ministerial consultations to gain further information on the steps the U.S. Government is taking to ensure that migrant agricultural workers enjoy the same legal protections as its nationals and that they enjoy the respect of their rights in matters of minimum employment standards, elimination of employment discrimination, and prevention and compensation for job‑related accidents and illnesses. A ministerial agreement for Mexican NAO Submission Nos. 9801, 9802, and 9803 was signed by the U.S. Labor Secretary and the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare on May 18, 2000. Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of Labor agreed to host a public forum on June 5, 2002 in Augusta, Maine, which was co-sponsored by the State on Maine Department of Labor. Government officials, employer representatives, educators, legal counselors, advocates and other service providers in Maine discussed working conditions and treatment of migrant and agricultural workers in the state of Maine. Consistent with the ministerial agreement, U.S. and Mexican labor officials explored ways of promoting and protecting the rights of migrant and agricultural workers in the United States.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission

This submission was filed with the Mexican NAO on May 27, 1998. The submission concerns migrant workers in the State of Washington employed in the apple industry and raises issues of freedom of association, safety and health, employment discrimination, minimum employment standards, protection of migrant workers, and compensation in cases of occupational injuries and illnesses. The submission was filed by the National Union of Workers (UNT), the Authentic Workers' Front (FAT), the Metal, Steel, Iron and Allied Industrial Workers Union (STIMAHCS), and the Democratic Farm Workers Front (FDC). The Mexican NAO accepted this submission for review on July 10, 1998 and met with submitters and workers on December 2, 1998. The Mexican NAO reviewed the submission and issued a public report on August 31, 1999, recommending ministerial consultations to gain further information on the following rights of agricultural sector workers: freedom of association and the right to organize, minimum conditions of work, work discrimination, prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses, and protection of migrant workers. On May 18, 2000, the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare signed a ministerial agreement for Mexican NAO Submissions Nos. 9801, 9802, and 9803. Under this agreement, a public outreach session was held in Yakima, Washington, on August 8, 2001. This event provided women migrant farm workers and their employers the opportunity to learn about the workers' legal protections and employer obligations concerning minimum conditions of employment, occupational safety and health, and the elimination of gender and ethnic discrimination. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Mexican Department of Labor and Social Welfare held a government-to-government meeting to discuss the application of U.S. law on the following topics: union organizing and bargaining rights; elimination of employment discrimination; minimum conditions of employment, including inspection programs and systems for determining violations of employment conditions for migrant workers; occupational safety and health, including inspection of migrant worker camps; and protection of migrant workers' rights. The United States also conducted a public forum in Maine with migrant workers, community groups, and government officials regarding migrant agricultural issues. All activities agreed to under the consultations have been completed.

• Report of Review
• Original Submission
• Ministerial Agreement