By Paolo Marinaro and Dan DiMaggio Mexican maquiladora workers in 70 factories have won big wage increases and bonuses in a strike wave that began in January. The strikes in the industrial city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on the border with Brownsville, Texas, have primarily hit auto parts factories, where tens of thousands of workers make Continue readingStrike Wave Wins Raises for Mexican Factory Workers
NAFTA
By Jefferey Hermanson The landslide victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”) in the Mexican presidential election in July has raised workers’ hopes for a revitalized and democratized labor movement. Independent unions have formed a new federation. They hope to win progressive labor law reform and finally end the reign of corrupt, pro-employer unions. The Continue readingElection Landslide Raises Hopes for Mexican Labor
By Gerard Di Trolio Everyone has a take on the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trump likes the way it sounds. Trudeau thinks it will grow the middle class. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer thinks Canada gave up too much and that he would have somehow managed to get a better deal out of Trump. Scheet Continue readingUSMCA: A new deal but still a bad one
By Gerard Di Trolio On the surface, it’s great that there has been a debate over the future of NAFTA in the pages of Canadian newspapers. But once you scratch the surface, it is clear that the media and the pro-NAFTA voices in it, completely ignore progressive critiques of NAFTA. Take the following recent exchange Continue readingBuilding a different narrative around NAFTA
By Elizabeth Rowley After the 7th round of bargaining on NAFTA concluded March 5 with agreement on just 6 of 30 chapters, it comes as no surprise that US President Trump has upped the ante with threats of 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and 10% on aluminum. Trump thinks this will force Canada to agree Continue readingTrump’s tariffs show we should ditch NAFTA
By Arthur Stamoulis As renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) chugs along rapidly behind closed doors, President Donald Trump will soon be forced to decide whether to keep or abandon his campaign pledge to make the pact “much better” for working people. NAFTA’s renegotiation should be an opportunity to end its quarter-century Continue readingNAFTA Talks: What’s the Deal?
By Herman Rosenfeld A four-week strike at the CAMI assembly plant, that began on September 17th, ended on October 16th. Members of Unifor Local 88 voted 86% in favour of the tentative agreement bargained with the stand-alone GM plant. Located in Ingersoll, Ontario, close to London, it is a former joint venture between Suzuki and GM. Continue readingCAMI strike 2017: After another setback can Unifor move on?
By Gerard DiTrolio and Doug Nesbitt As negotiators from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico carry out secretive talks aimed at fixing NAFTA, a strike at an Ontario auto plant shows how difficult it can be to challenge the power amassed by corporations thanks to the trade deal. The 2,800 members of Unifor Local 88 walked Continue readingCAMI workers strike, but can’t get guarantee on jobs
By John Warnock The Trudeau government is currently re-negotiating NAFTA with the governments of the USA and Mexico. The results we are told will be Win! Win! Win! How can Canada lose? The standard line from big business, the mass media and mainstream academics is that everyone benefits from free trade. Consumers profit from lower Continue readingNAFTA: The origins of a bad deal
By Gerard Di Trolio and Doug Nesbitt The strike at the CAMI Automotive plant in Ingersoll, Ontario is of major importance to the labour movement. The 2,800 members of Unifor Local 88 have walked off the job in a battle for wages but crucially for job security. It’s the first GM strike in Canada since Continue readingCAMI strike can renew fight against NAFTA
By Richard Roman and Edur Velasco Aeeegui The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks started on August 16 with very little of the fire and fury Donald Trump had promised during his campaign. His pledge to abolish the deal has largely been replaced with a plan to modernize it. Some currents within the Trump Continue readingThe NAFTA Consensus
By Gerard Di Trolio The first round of NAFTA negotiations are now over. The talks will be moving next to Mexico and then to Canada during September. We don’t know where there is broad agreement or major contention over the issues. We do know however, that given the length of time that it took for Continue readingDon’t trust Trudeau on NAFTA