Mexico City: Workers at a General Motors Co (GM) car plant in Mexico have voted in favour of joining the Carlos Leone union as its collective bargaining agent, reversing a trend in which workers were breaking ties with company-friendly labour groups for new independent ones that secured wage gains.
Carlos Leone was elected to represent GM’s 6,500 workers in San Luis Potosí with 1,888 votes, beating independent group Sinttia’s 1,115 votes, according to a statement issued by Mexico’s Labour Ministry. Participation reached 50.5%.
“Sinttia is committed to defending labour rights and will continue to work,” union head Alejandra Morales told Bloomberg.
Representatives for Carlos Leone didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours.
GM’s workers in San Luis Potosí have been without representation since 2023, after the former union failed to meet certification requirements under the USMCA North American trade deal.
The union was replaced by a workers council set up by plant management.
The arrival of new unions follows reforms under the previous administration that weakened the national union Confederación de Trabajadores de México, or CTM, which had long been criticised for presiding over stagnant wages while collecting dues and negotiating contracts.
Since the USMCA went into effect during US President Donald Trump’s first term, Mexican unions have been required to re-certify their representation of workers.
That has opened the door for new independent unions, which have managed to gain a foothold in some auto plants and are slowly pushing wages up.
Before the vote, Sinttia leaders said they would negotiate for better pay to set workers on a path from a current wage of US$3 an hour toward the rates enjoyed by American and Canadian auto workers.
Those workers make five times that in parts plants and as much as US$40 for the automakers, according to the union. — Bloomberg
