US labor union, Mexican lawyers file complaint against Alabama immigration law

By Vicki Needham - 04/30/12 11:48 AM ET

A U.S. union and a group of Mexican labor lawyers are teaming up to challenge what they are calling a "discriminatory" immigration law in Alabama.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and a Mexican lawyers group on Monday filed a complaint with Mexico’s Department of Labor under the supplemental labor agreement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) arguing that Alabama’s immigration law is “abusive” toward all workers.

“We are going to fight HB 56 with everything we can bring to bear under U.S. law,” said Eliseo Medina, SEIU’s international secretary-treasurer.

"But we’re not going to stop at our borders, we are bringing the fight to a global stage and putting HB 56 under international scrutiny.”

The complaint states that the law "contradicts key provisions of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) and has devastating consequences for migrant and immigrant workers in Alabama, as well as for all workers in the state."

The complaint says the law violates "international human rights and labor rights standards and undermines the ability of federal authorities to effectively enforce labor and employment laws."

NAFTA specifically protects the rights of migrant workers, requiring that they be given the same legal protection as U.S. nationals in respect to working conditions.

On April 2, SEIU filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, charging that the immigration law violates workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively under international standards.

The new NAFTA labor complaint also cites the Alabama law’s effects, including involvement in workers’ centers, community groups and other freedom of association activities, that are supposed to be protected under the NAFTA and the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

The NAFTA complaint says the law will lead to increased minimum wage and overtime violations, workplace health and safety hazards and discrimination against workers who “look” or “sound” foreign.

"Alabama’s HB 56 undermines the ability of the United States to meet its obligations under the trade agreements international standards and to effectively enforce laws to halt such abuses," the complaint said.

The Mexican labor department will evaluate the complaint and seek additional information from the complaining parties in preparation for a broader investigation and report.

“As officials begin investigating, we are confident they will see HB 56 for what it is: an immoral racial profiling law that had no grounds to begin with but which now threatens workers and economic stability,” Medina said.