> From: Ellen Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: PLANT CLOSINGS AND LABOR RIGHTS IN U.S., CANADA AND MEXICO > > I am posting this message for someone who is not on this list. If you = > have any questions and/or comments please contact John McKennirey at = > 214-754-1101. =20 > > > > For Release: June 9,1997 Contact: John McKennirey=20 > (214) 754-1101 > =09 > PRESS RELEASE > > FIRST NAFTA LABOR SECRETARIAT SPECIAL STUDY REVIEWS PLANT CLOSINGS AND = > LABOR RIGHTS IN U.S., CANADA AND MEXICO > > The Secretariat of the Commission for Labor Cooperation today released = > its first "special study" under the labor side agreement to NAFTA, = > entitled Plant Closings and Labor Rights. The study is available on the = > Commission's website: http://www.naalc.org. Acting on a request from = > the Council of Ministers (US Secretary of Labor, Mexican Secretary of = > Labor and Social Welfare, Canadian Minister of Labour), the Dallas-based = > Secretariat reviewed the effects of plant closings and threats of plant = > closing on the principle of freedom of association and workers' right to = > organize unions in the three countries party to the North American = > Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC). =20 > > The Ministers requested the study as part of an action plan resulting = > from Ministerial Consultations initiated by M=E9xico in 1995 and = > prompted by the sudden closing (by Sprint Corporation) of a = > telemarketing facility in San Francisco immediately prior to a union = > election. The Sindicato de Telefonistas de la Republica Mexicana = > (Union of Telephone Workers of the Republic of Mexico) filed a = > submission under the NAALC with the National Administrative Office of = > Mexico's Department of Labor, leading to ministerial consultations = > between then-U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Mexican Labor = > Secretary Javier Bonilla, joined by Canadian Minister of Labour Alfonso = > Gagliano. =20 > > The Study describes how the labor laws of each country protect against = > the use of plant closures or threats of closures to prevent union = > organization, and then examines the experience with the administration = > of these laws over the past five to ten year period. > > "The Ministers asked us to look at an extremely important issue in this = > first study," said John McKennirey, Executive Director of the = > Secretariat, "It is a fundamental principle of labor law in all three = > NAFTA countries that employees should not be forced to choose between = > having a union and having a job." =20 > > For the United States, the Secretariat reviewed more than 400 federal = > court and NLRB decisions in cases of plant closings and threats of plant = > closing in a 5 year period (1989-95), roughly 90 per cent of which the = > NLRB or the courts found to be unlawful. The study notes the active = > enforcement by the NLRB of these types of cases. > > A supplementary survey of U.S. union representatives found what = > respondents believed were plant closing threats reported in half of the = > sampled organizing campaigns during the 3-year period studied, with a = > higher incidence in industries more susceptible to closing such as = > manufacturing, trucking and warehousing. > > With a similar legal framework, Canada's labor law systems saw 36 cases = > dealt with by the federal and provincial labor boards involving alleged = > plant closings or threats of plant closing in a 10-year period. In about = > 60% of these cases employers were found to have acted unlawfully. The = > proportion of this type of case in relation to the number of union = > organizing attempts per year is much lower in Canada than in the US. = > > > Analyzing the Mexican experience, the Secretariat Study noted that there = > are generally no union organizing "campaigns" or elections in Mexico = > where employers might respond by closing or threatening to close the = > plant. Mexican labor law is "fundamentally different," so that cases = > involving alleged plant closings or threats of plant closing in order = > to prevent union organization do not arise in the Mexican legal system. = > > > In a first ever systematic review of cases before the Mexican = > Conciliation and Arbitration Boards in this area, the Secretariat found = > that the legal procedure by which workers or unions could challenge an = > employer's motivation in plant closures is virtually unused. Instead, = > Mexican workers and unions press for enhanced severance pay and other = > benefits when a plant closes. The vast majority of closures occur with = > the consent of the union.=20 > > The Study concludes with "issues for further consideration" including = > improving information, areas of further research in regard to this = > matter, and addressing plant closures and labor rights in codes of = > conduct for firms engaged in North American trade based on models = > accepted by the NAALC countries developed by the Organization for = > Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Labor = > Organization (ILO). > > A copy of the Study is available from Bernan Press. Contact Bernan Press = > at: www.bernan.com, 1-800-274-4447, fax 1-800-865-3450, e-mail: = > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > The Study is available on the Commission's website: = > http://www.naalc.org. > >
