A USMCA RRM Petition From Mexican Independent Union SNITIS, United Steelworkers and Rethink Trade Forced VDO to Remediate Violations Against Matomoros Workers that Elected Independent Union SNITIS after U.S. and Mexican Governments Intervened

Washington, D.C. – Rethink Trade welcomes the remediation actions announced by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of Labor related to a U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) labor rights Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) case against the Matamoros, Mexico glass manufacturer Vidrio Decorativo Occidental, S.A. de C.V. (VDO) . The RRM case was initiated in response to a petition revealing systematic violations of VDO workers rights to organize and bargain collectively filed on October 10, 2024 by the Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadores de Industrias y de Servicios Movimiento 20/32 (SNITIS), United Steelworkers and Rethink Trade.

“The remediation actions won through the RRM process in this case will have a tremendous impact on SNITIS members working for VDO. By leveraging the tools provided by the USMCA, the workers fought back and forced the company to withdraw a bogus criminal complaint it had filed against them in retaliation for their union activity. The message is clear: workers are protected from threats and intimidation under the USMCA,” said Daniel Rangel, an advocate with Rethink Trade who petitioned for a case to be initiated.

Steelworkers International Affairs Director Ben Davis added: “While the withdrawal of the criminal complaint filed by this company against its workers and the other remediation actions are welcome steps, the swift negotiation and ratification of a union contract with SNITIS is required to ensure that VDO workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively are fully restored.”

The USMCA RRM petition in this case documented how VDO, a subsidiary of ODL Inc., a Michigan-based company making windows and blinds sold across the United States, retaliated against SNITIS members due to their union activism; interfered with workers’ right to strike; and sought to replace SNITIS with a company union under its control.

The remediation actions taken by the company included:

• Providing backpay to a worker who was previously reinstated and a written commitment to rehire and pay bonuses equivalent to 100% back pay owed to two workers who previously signed conciliation agreements and accepted severance packages;
• Expunging disciplinary action for seventy-two workers who faced direct reprisals by the company;
• Providing a bonus payment for thirty-six workers and a retroactive 8% annual salary increase for thirty-three workers who had not received them;
• Withdrawing a criminal complaint filed against six workers and two SNITIS representatives before the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Tamaulipas;
• Adopting, disseminating, and implementing a neutrality statement and company guidelines on freedom of association and collective bargaining, including a zero-tolerance policy for violations, and training all company personnel on the guidelines and neutrality commitments; and
• Providing a complaint mechanism for workers to anonymously report any violations of their rights and breaches of company guidelines on freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Learn more about Rethink Trade here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.