- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
- Liverpool share responsibility for Nunez goal drought, says Slot
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
Union vote at GM Mexico plant hailed as 'win' for workers
Workers at a General Motors factory in Mexico have elected an independent union -- a step hailed as a victory for labor rights helped by a revamped North American trade agreement.
The United States had in May asked Mexico to investigate claims of "serious violations" of worker rights during a previous union vote at the GM plant in Silao in the state of Guanajuato.
The Mexican government previously suspended the election following allegations of irregularities, in a country where unions have long been accused of shady backroom deals with employers.
It was Washington's first formal complaint under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement on July 1, 2020.
The new agreement requires the three countries to guarantee worker rights to collective bargaining, union democracy and freedom of association.
The latest vote in Silao was won overwhelmingly by the National Independent Union of Workers of the Automotive Industry (SINTTIA), which secured the support of 4,192 of the roughly 6,200 workers entitled to participate.
It will have the right to negotiate a new collective contract, the government's center for labor conciliation and registration said in a statement Thursday announcing the result.
General Motors welcomed the outcome of what it called an "unprecedented democratic exercise" monitored by government inspectors and more than 100 independent observers.
So-called "ghost unions," born from surreptitious agreements between labor leaders and company bosses, have long favored employers over Mexican workers.
US President Joe Biden ran for office as a champion of American workers, and pledged to take action to ensure they are protected from unfair competition from cheap labor in other countries.
"The brave workers at GM's Silao assembly plant have voted resoundingly for real change at work," tweeted Liz Shuler, president of the US labor federation AFL-CIO.
"This win, made possible by the reforms we helped negotiate into the USMCA, is a significant victory not only for workers in Mexico but around the world," she added.
"Workers overcame gross intimidation and election meddling, and their triumph is an example of what happens when workers stand together," Shuler said, noting that SINTTIA was the only independent union on the ballot.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist free-trade skeptic who took office in 2018, has also vowed to improve worker rights.
USMCA has provided an additional catalyst for change, resulting in Mexico enacting a labor reform in 2019 demanded by US Democrats as a condition to approve the trade deal.
E.Borba--PC