Complaints,

of unions that the old-guard CTM union dominated the plant but never even bothered to ask the owners for a labor contract, says Pablo Franco, a Piedras Negras labor lawyer.

After the U.S. filed a first labor complaint in July, the company was forced to allow a vote, but they let the CTM union inside to try to cow workers into rejecting the new union, the Mexican Workers Union League.

"They spoke to the workers and they told them they couldn't allow an outside union like the league in, that it would be better to go with the people they knew," said Franco. "They (the company) spoke to workers, and allowed the CTM to speak to workers, to try to convince them. That was what the company did."

Even though the new union won a vote in late August by an almost two-to-one margin, the harassment hasn't ceased, and the company has been loathe to negotiate, said union organizer Julia Quiñonez, a Piedras Negras labor activist.

Quiñonez has been the target of a number of social media videos in which workers at the plant were allowed to leave the factory — in their company uniforms — and hold a press conference attacking the new union for asking too much in terms of wage increases: a scandalous $32 per day.

"No company can do that," said one of the dissidents in the video. "Not even the owner has that much (money)."

Quiñonez disputes that — she says the new union is only asking for $19 per day — but says the company has refused to negotiate, and has allied with the CTM union to launch a smear campaign against the union.

"They say we are egging the workers on to ask for more than the companies can give, so they will close down and return to the United States," Quiñonez says.

The company also allegedly severely limited the new union's access to hold an assembly in the plant, and refused to hand over information as part of the negotiations.

VU Manufacturing did not respond to requests by phone and email for comment.

The situation drew an unprecedented second U.S. complaint on Jan. 30.

"Despite this facility taking positive actions in 2022, some of the failures we identified previously appear to be recurring." said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Mexico's Labor Department said in a statement "VU Manufacturing is obligated to negotiate in good faith" with the new union and "must allow its representatives and advisors to enter the facility, participate in negotiations and inform the workers."