The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), representing about 600,000 active and retired members across North America, has called for stronger labor enforcement and job protections as part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) review process.
In written comments to the U.S. Trade Representative during the USMCA’s required six-year joint review, IAM Union officials stated that weak labor enforcement in Mexico and insufficient rules of origin are undermining union jobs in both the United States and Canada. The union opposed both NAFTA in the early 1990s and the USMCA when it was adopted in 2019.
Brian Bryant, International President of IAM Union, said: “The USMCA promised to lift standards for workers across North America, but too many companies are still chasing low wages and weak enforcement. It’s time for a trade policy that defends North American manufacturing, protects our workers, and ensures that every product bearing the USMCA label is truly made under fair conditions.”
The IAM Union’s filing urges policymakers to expand and strengthen the Rapid Response Mechanism to cover more workers in Mexico, extend Labor Value Content requirements to additional sectors such as aerospace and shipbuilding, and tighten rules of origin so non-USMCA content does not enter duty-free supply chains.
In its statement submitted for the review process, the IAM Union noted: “Unfortunately, our concerns about USMCA have proven to be accurate: Mexican industrial wages remain lower than those in China, and offshoring of well-paid U.S. jobs continues, including many in the aerospace sector. Indeed, since USMCA was enacted, we have seen further erosion of good, middle-class, union jobs in the United States. In order to prevent this from continuing, we need to take vigorous action on a number of fronts during the upcoming review.”
The IAM Union remains one of North America’s largest industrial trade unions with members working across industries such as aerospace, defense, airlines, shipbuilding, railroad transit, healthcare and automotive throughout both the United States and Canada.
