that doesnt mean were going to get any change in mexico anytime soon said kimberly nolan a labor scholar at the latin american faculty of social sciences research institute some of the matamoros workers are now looking to the united states for backing a new free trade deal between mexico the united states and canada usmca implemented last year enshrined workers rights to choose which union administers their collective contract with democrat joe biden now president mexico may come under close scrutiny to uphold the usmcas proworker provisions which were partly designed to prevent low labor costs from leeching more us jobs under the treaty companies failing to ensure freedom of association for workers in mexico could be sanctioned with tariffs and other penalties the office of the us trade representative which runs us trade policy did not respond to a question of how the biden administration would treat violations of the trade pacts labor measures but katherine tai head of the agency said last week she was not afraid to use the enforcement provisions of the usmca without specifying which issues could come under review the powerful us union federation the aflcio told reuters in april it was drafting cases against companies in mexico under usmca and would make details public in may matamoros is one of a string of mexican border cities which american firms were lured to by cheap labor in recent decades its factories supply parts for general motors co toyota motor corp stellantis and other automakers booming trade with the united states has brought jobs to areas of northern mexico but labor rights lag companies in mexico have commonly fired workers among other tactics rather than allow them to agitate for new unions say activists scholars and government officials they fire them they suppress them they stop giving extra hours they dont give bonuses they change them to night shift said alfredo dominguez head of the federal center of conciliation and labor registration created under the labor reform to ensure collective contracts are legitimate one of the labor ministrys priorities is to eliminate socalled protection contracts signed between unions and employers without workers prior consultation or knowledge which dominguez said make up at least 80 of all collective contracts in mexico the labor reform once implemented will also do away with local panels blamed by labor activists for long delays in the process of establishing new unions like prietos the boards will be replaced with tribunals reporting to the judicial branch new tactics frustrated by delays in setting up a new union hundreds of tridonex workers early in 2020 opted for a new tactic declaring they no longer wanted to pay dues to the established union sitpme after several tense protests tridonex consented then firings began four workers told reuters in march 2020 efren ruiz who cleaned and assembled brake parts for tridonex and was a vocal advocate of prietos union was dismissed this is reprisal ruiz remembered telling a supervisor before security guards escorted