III. Ministerial Consultations

Article 22 of the NAALC allows any Party to request consultations with another Party at the Ministerial level regarding any matter within the scope of the NAALC. These consultations aim to resolve issues in a mutually beneficial manner in the cooperative spirit of the Agreement. In the first two years of the NAALC, Article 22 was invoked on two occasions, once by the United States and once by Mexico, both cases regarding freedom of association issues. 

On both occasions, Canada endorsed the action plan agreed at the Ministerial Consultations, and is participating in all resulting joint initiatives.

A. Submission 940003 to the U.S. NAO 

On October 13, 1994, the U.S. NAO accepted for review a public submission raising issues including freedom of association and the right to organize. It was alleged that workers at a plant in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, were intimidated, pressured, and eventually dismissed by the company when they attempted to organize a union; that the plant management colluded with the established union and local authorities to elect a union leadership that was compliant to the demands of management; that police used violence to break up a peaceful demonstration by workers; and that Mexican authorities improperly denied registration when the workers attempted to organize an independent union. Allegations pertaining to minimum employment standards were not accepted for review since appropriate relief had not been sought under the laws of Mexico. 

The U.S. NAO gathered information from a variety of sources including a public hearing held in San Antonio, Texas, on February 13, 1995, and a report of review was issued on April 11, 1995. In its Public Report of Review, the U.S. NAO recommended to the U.S. Secretary of Labor to request Ministerial Consultations with his Mexican counterpart on the matter of union registration, and also recommended additional joint cooperative activities on matters of internal union elections and democracy. Further, the U.S. NAO committed to undertake a study of Mexican Conciliation and Arbitration Board (CAB) cases involving allegations of unjustified dismissals, and requested information from the Mexican NAO on the allegations of the use of excessive force by the police in breaking up the workers' demonstration. 

The Ministerial Consultations resulted in an agreement to conduct a series of three public seminars on union registration and certification, an internal study on union registration by the Mexican authorities, and a series of meetings between Mexican authorities and the parties concerned. 

In compliance with the second part of the agreement, the Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare designated a team of independent experts to conduct a study of labor law and practice related to the registration of unions. 

Finally, in accordance with the third part of the agreement, officials of the Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare met in Mexico City with management representatives of the company on June 26, 1995, and with the local labor authorities and a number of the workers directly involved in the case, in Nuevo Laredo, on August 21-24, 1995. 

In addition, the U.S. NAO contracted a team of experts to conduct a study on selected Mexican CAB cases involving allegations of unjustified dismissals. This study will be made available to the public early in 1996. 

Seminar on Union Registration
and Certification Procedures
September 13-14, 1995
Mexico City, Mexico 

This was the first of the three public seminars agreed to in the Ministerial Consultations agreement. Panels of government officials from the three countries discussed union registration and certification issues in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. There was significant participation by the public, the interested parties and the workers involved in the submission, as well as considerable press coverage. 

Seminar on Union Registration
and Certification Procedures
November 8-9, 1995
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A 

This was the second seminar arising from the Ministerial Consultations agreement. Panels of prominent independent experts from the three countries in the field of industrial relations were selected to discuss union certification and registration issues, as well as internal democracy and some of the other industrial relations issues raised in the submission. Again, there was public participation and considerable press coverage.

The third and final seminar agreed to in the Ministerial Consultations, was to take place in Monterrey, Mexico, in February 1996. 

B. Submission 9501 to the Mexican NAO 

On February 9, 1995, the Mexican NAO received a public communication regarding the alleged violations discussed below, which was presented by the Telephone Workers Union of the Republic of Mexico. The Mexican NAO, in conformity with the NAALC and according to its rules regarding the issue, reviewed the contents of the public communication. The review focused on the provisions provided under U.S. law that protect and promote the freedom of association and the right of workers to organize, fundamental Labor Principles in all three NAFTA countries.

In February 1994, employees of a company in San Francisco, California, began to organize a union with the support of the Communications Workers of America. Subsequently, these employees and the company signed an agreement before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the U.S. entity charged with supervising union elections. One week before July 22, 1994, the agreed date of the union election, the company closed down its offices in San Francisco, alleging serious financial problems. More than 200 workers were dismissed.

On July 18, 1995, the workers argued before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that the company was closed to impede the formation of a union, in clear violation of freedom of association and right to organize laws.

On August 30, 1995, an ALJ found that the company had violated Section 8(a)1 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by engaging in activities that interfered with the employees rights under the Act. However, the ALJ also found that the closure of the facility was undertaken for lawful business considerations. The case is now on appeal to the NLRB.

On May 31, 1995, upon concluding the study, the Mexican NAO released the report recommending to the (then) Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare, Santiago Oņate, that he request consultations with the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich. This report is available to the public at the Mexican NAO.

On June 2, 1995, Secretary Oņate requested Ministerial Consultations with his U.S. counterpart regarding the effects of the sudden closure of a workplace on the freedom of association and the right of workers to organize. The U.S. Secretary of Labor accepted the request for Ministerial Consultations. On July 26-27, officials from the two labor ministries met to define the scope of the consultations and the plans to carry out the Ministerial Consultations.

On December 15, 1995, the U.S. and Mexican governments reached an agreement spelling out a three-step plan to address this submission. The agreement signed by Secretary Reich and new Mexican Secretary of Labor, Javier Bonilla, states: 

1. Secretary Reich will keep Secretary Bonilla informed of any further legal developments outside the Labor Department in the case;

2. The Secretariat of the Commission for Labor Cooperation will study the effects of sudden plant closings on the principle of freedom of association and the right of workers to organize in all three countries;

3. The U.S. Department of Labor will hold a public forum in San Francisco to allow interested parties an opportunity to convey to the public their concerns on the effects of the sudden closing of a plant on the principle of freedom of association and the right of workers to organize.

In compliance with the third part of the agreement arising from this Ministerial Consultations, the public forum was to be held on February 27, 1996, in San Francisco, California, U.S.A.