WASHINGTON – The United States and Mexico today announced a course of remediation at the Amphenol Optimize México, S.A. de C.V. (Amphenol or the company) facility located in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, which manufactures automotive and aerospace connectors, cables, and parts. This announcement marks the tenth time the United States and Mexico have agreed on a formal course of remediation in a case under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM).
The course of remediation details a plan to remedy violations of Mexican law at the facility and includes measures aimed at ensuring freedom of association and collective bargaining rights are protected at the facility moving forward.
Under the course of remediation, the Government of Mexico will ensure that Amphenol takes various remedial actions, including to:
- Reinstate nine workers with full backpay and benefits;
- Update its neutrality statement and guidelines related to freedom of association and collective bargaining, to prohibit interfering with workers’ right to discuss and conduct union activity at the workplace;
- Implement its updated neutrality statement and guidelines;
- Inform workers about the Course of Remediation, and affirm Amphenol’s intention to respect workers’ exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights in the future; and
- Install and publicize a complaint mechanism through which workers can report violations of their rights and breaches of company policies anonymously and confidentially.
Under the course of remediation, the Government of Mexico will, among other actions:
- Conduct in-person training that is structured to ensure all workers understand their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining and how to exercise it, including by informing workers of the denial of rights at the facility and educating workers on the conciliation process available to any dismissed worker;
- Review new allegations of reprisals and harassment based on union preferences or affiliation, and take any necessary remedial action;
- Monitor the facility with regard to the obligations of the course of remediation and compliance with Mexican laws related to freedom of association and collective bargaining; and
- Maintain a direct email address, reporting platform, and telephone line for workers to anonymously report any potential acts of unlawful interference or other violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, and timely investigate any allegations.
The United States and Mexico agreed to establish a deadline of January 31, 2026 to complete the course of remediation.
Background
The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On April 11, 2025, the ILC received an RRM petition from the Sindicato Industrial Operaciones y Manufacturas. The petition alleged Amphenol had violated workers’ right to freedom of association and collective bargaining by coercing workers to vote for the company-favored outcome during a union vote, discouraging workers from joining an independent union, and taking reprisals against workers due to their union preferences, including through dismissals. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days. The ILC determined that there was sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms.
As a result, on May 9, 2025, the United States submitted a request that Mexico review the matter. Mexico agreed to conduct a review. Following Mexico’s investigation, Amphenol agreed to take certain remedial actions and, subsequently, the United States and Mexico agreed on a course of remediation.
Read the full course of remediation here.
Read an unofficial courtesy Spanish translation of the full course of remediation here.
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