Tariffs, trade and trust building: solidarity with our union allies in Mexico 

The SHF has a long-term relationship of solidarity with our union brothers and sisters in Mexico, especially through the Mineros union and the Authentic Labour Front (FAT). In collaboration with the Canadian Labour Congress, CUPE, PSAC, and the Centre international de solidarité ouvrière in Quebec, through a grant from Employment and Social Development Canada, the Steelworker Humanity Fund is supporting four Mexican labour organizations in implementing an important reform to Mexican labour law. Our partners in Mexico run popular education programs and support organizing campaigns by independent unions. Through this project we have continued to find new ways of working in solidarity, because when workers are organized and united anywhere, we have a stronger voice everywhere.  

In 2024 the Steelworkers had opportunities to put this principle into practice, such as when a group of workers at a Canadian-owned mine in Zacatecas, Mexico were bullied into leaving the Mineros union and signing a contract with the fake employer protection union. The protection union used violent tactics to pressure miners to join them, including threats, physical beatings, gunmen visiting the homes of union members, and even an assassination attempt against the president of the local union. The Canadian company turned a blind eye to this violence. USW demanded action from the Mexican and Canadian governments and even launched a legal complaint to push the employer to address the situation. 

Today, with a new administration in the USA imposing uncalled-for tariffs on its neighbours to the north and south, jobs in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are threatened, and workers in all three countries are feeling the burn. We need a strong trade policy that protects our jobs and invests in our livelihoods, and unions have an important role to play in pushing our governments to make that happen.  

With that goal in mind, in December 2024 Mexican union representatives travelled to Canada to participate in meetings on the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement. Together with Canadian and US trade unions and progressive organizations, they discussed what a fair North American trade deal could look like for workers. In 2025, Steelworkers will join a delegation of trade unions from Canada and Quebec and travel to Mexico, where we will discuss the tariffs and strategize about the best way forward.  

With a fast-changing reality in North America, it is critical to support old allies and build new ones. The SHF is proud to play a part in this work. 

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