"U.S. weighs labor probe into Stellantis Mexico plant, Mexican officials say", 27 May 2022

...The U.S. government is considering filing a trade deal complaint over alleged labor abuses against a car parts plant in Mexico owned by Netherlands-based Stellantis...

If the U.S. Trade Representative takes up the probe into Teksid Hierro de Mexico...[,]...it would mark the fourth labor complaint against a foreign company in Mexico since the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) went into effect in 2020...

When asked about the possible labor inquiry at the Coahuila plant, Stellantis said it respects collective-bargaining rights and will comply with local laws...

Since 2014, Teksid - which employs nearly 1,500 people and makes iron castings for heavy vehicles - has been embroiled in a union dispute that labor activists say has blocked workers from being represented by a group of their choice known as the Miners Union.

Activists also say workers were fired after supporting the Miners Union.

U.S. labor authorities told Mexico's government in early May they were looking into opening a complaint at Teksid after unions flagged the case, said Alejandro Encinas, head of policy and institutional relations at Mexico's Labor Ministry...

He and the head of Mexico's federal labor center, Alfredo Dominguez, said U.S. authorities had 30 days from receiving the unions' petition to evaluate whether to pursue the case under the USMCA's Rapid Response Mechanism that aims to swiftly resolve disputes...