85% of Mexican union contracts weren’t voted on by workers

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Labor Department says 85% of the country’s 140,000 officially registered labor contracts are in danger of being canceled because they failed to meet Monday’s deadline to have union members vote on them. Under labor reforms that helped win renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, starting in 2019 Mexico told unions with registered contracts they had to submit the labor pacts to secret-ballot votes by workers within four years. The small percentage of contracts meeting Monday’s deadline reflects what Mexican officials acknowledge has been the longstanding practice of labor leaders in negotiating contracts with little or no worker input to ensure wages are low so they can keep factories in Mexico.