IAM Union International Affairs Director Peter Greenberg testified before the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), urging for urgent and enforceable labor standards in the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The union expressed concerns that current weaknesses in the agreement have contributed to outsourcing, weakened labor protections, and harmed economic security for workers across North America.
Greenberg detailed the union’s ongoing issues with USMCA, particularly its failure to improve labor conditions in Mexico or prevent the loss of well-paying manufacturing and aerospace jobs in the United States and Canada.
“Unfortunately, our concerns about USMCA have proven to have been accurate: Mexican industrial wages remain lower than those in China, and offshoring of well-paid U.S. jobs continues, including many in the aerospace sector,” said Greenberg. “Since USMCA was enacted, we have seen further erosion of good, middle-class, union jobs in the United States. In order to prevent this from continuing, we need to take vigorous action during the upcoming review.”
The IAM Union called for stronger rules of origin, expansion of Labor Value Content requirements, and assurance that goods moving duty-free under USMCA are genuinely produced within North America. The union highlighted that its members support both commercial aviation and U.S. national defense by building advanced aircraft and engines.
According to the IAM Union, weak provisions in USMCA have enabled products with significant non-North American content—especially from China—to enter the U.S. duty-free. This has negatively affected domestic aerospace manufacturing and disrupted the integrated supply chain between the U.S. and Canada.
Greenberg referenced findings from the Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board (IMLEB), which identified continued failures by Mexico’s government to enforce core labor rights or penalize employers who violate them. The union argued that without stricter enforcement measures, increased funding for monitoring through the U.S. Department of Labor, and meaningful penalties for violators, Mexican workers will lack essential rights needed for an independent labor system.
“The IAM Union message is simple: If we strengthen labor standards, they must be enforced. And if we enforce them, companies must not be allowed to undermine them by seeking cheaper labor elsewhere,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “Working families deserve a trade agreement that works for them and not against them.”
During these hearings held by USTR on USMCA review, testimony was also given by IAM’s Maine Lobstering Union. They urged action on inequities within USMCA that disadvantage Maine’s lobstermen due to unequal conservation requirements and inconsistent enforcement across borders—issues threatening coastal communities dependent on a stable fishing industry.
The IAM Union formally submitted comments to USTR regarding the joint review of USMCA. Their submission called on policymakers to enhance labor enforcement mechanisms, raise wage standards across member countries, and address loopholes contributing to offshoring of key manufacturing jobs throughout North America.
