TORONTO, MEXICO CITY – Representatives of Canadian, American and Mexican unions will hold a news conference on Friday, Feb. 20, to report on meetings focused on trade-impacted labour rights in Mexico this week.
The labour delegation to Mexico includes Canadian and American members of the United Steelworkers union (USW), representatives of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and several Mexican unions.
The unions are holding a series of meetings in Mexico, from Feb. 18 to 24, which overlap the Canadian government’s “Team Canada” trade mission to Mexico that has excluded labour representation.
The union representatives are discussing the impacts of the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade war on workers and labour rights across North America in the context of the pending review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and reinforcing solidarity among workers at multinational corporations that operate in all three countries.
The union delegation also will visit the city of Aguascalientes to meet with workers organizing at several multinational corporations. They will discuss the challenges Mexican workers face in forming unions, and the need for stronger protections for labour rights under the CUSMA.
“Unions in our three countries are committed to building cross-border solidarity to fight for improved labour rights and rules that raise working and living standards for all workers,” said Marty Warren, USW National Director for Canada.
“We need a worker-centred trade strategy. The Canadian government must engage with unions and bring them into trade negotiations. Workers need a seat at the table,” Warren said.
The union representatives from the three countries will hold a joint news conference in Mexico City on Friday, Feb. 20, at 12:30 p.m., Mexico City time (1:30 p.m. EST). The news conference will be held at the Los Mineros union headquarters, located at C. Dr. José María Vértiz 668, Narvarte Poniente, Benito Juárez.
The news conference will be livestreamed via Zoom to allow for participation by journalists unable to attend in-person. The link to the news conference and log-in information are as follows:
About the United Steelworkers union
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of the union’s strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
First published on globeandmail.com on October 22, 2026 By Marty Warren, Special to the Globe and Mail Marty Warren, the Canadian national director of the United Steelworkers union. As I write, more workers at Hamilton’s Stelco steel mill are being laid off. In all, the plant’s U.S. owner, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., will cut up to 500 jobs. This, […]
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