Labor leaders have already deemed that NAFTA negotiations are “on track” and in some cases already hailing President Donald Trump for meeting some of their demands. | Jeff Swensen/Getty Images Employment & Immigration Trump woos labor unions as he tears up NAFTA Traditional Democratic allies see the president as a partner in tweaking the trade deal.

U.S. labor unions and President Donald Trump have always had one thing in common: a mutual hatred for the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Trump administration and its top trade negotiator have been openly wooing labor union leaders and rank-and-file workers as it tries to renegotiate NAFTA — and by some measures, it’s working.


Labor leaders who for decades have been firmly in the Democratic Party’s camp say they’re open-minded toward Trump and many leaders have been given White House access as the deal has been renegotiated.

Behind the scenes, some union officials are lavishing praise on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for adopting their suggestions — a stark change from the icy relationship on trade that developed between labor unions and the Obama administration.

Politically, Trump and his allies know that the president needs to keep the blue-collar vote, which has been slipping since he took office. Labor union member support for Trump has dipped 15 points from March 2017 to March 2018, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released in May.

“The NAFTA renegotiation was in fact a campaign promise that he made and was also coincidentally something that we have been calling for forever,” said Mike Dolan, legislative representative for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

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On the surface at least, the revamped deal with Mexico has tried to tackle one of labor’s biggest complaints: the temptation for companies to move manufacturing to low-wage countries. In its tentative deal, Mexico agreed to rules that would require any car built in North America to have about 40-45 percent of its content made by workers earning $16 per hour or more if it is to qualify for a tariff cut.

In addition, Mexico has agreed to take specific legislative actions to strengthen collective bargaining. The idea being that workers who can more effectively organize are positioned to demand higher wages and better working conditions.

Trump needs labor support to push a NAFTA deal through Congress next year, especially if Democrats take the House.

Many of those lawmakers are loath to give Trump a victory and will likely only vote for an agreement if it gets a nod from unions. That support only grows in importance if some of the changes don’t win over some free-trade Republicans deterred by a deal viewed unfavorably by major U.S. businesses.

Labor leaders have already deemed that negotiations are “on track” and in some cases already hailing Trump for meeting some of their demands.

Lighthizer has said he wants a deal that can attract broad bipartisan support, but labor unions are setting a high bar for their support of any final deal, which they stress must include all three countries.

Trump on Friday notified Congress of his intent to sign a deal with Mexico, and Canada “if it is willing,” within 90 days.

“If they want a grip and grin kind of moment over there at the White House then they’re going to have to make public commitments in the next Congress to get our support,” said Dolan.

The Teamsters have never supported a trade deal but have already lauded the administration for apparently rolling back a provision that allowed Mexican truckers to carry freight on long-haul routes in the U.S.

Still, Dolan said labor unions are in “complete solidarity” about having final deal that will threaten heavy sanctions on Mexico if the government doesn‘t take further steps to improve its labor rights and uphold rules that give workers the ability to better organize and demand better working conditions.

Labor leaders on Friday called the renegotiation of the pact a “mammoth undertaking” and complimented Lighthizer’s “close consultations and willingness to consider new ideas.” But they also warned that the deal will fall short if it doesn’t contain strong labor standards and if Mexico fails to adopt and enforce changes to its current labor laws.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was critical of Trump on Sunday, saying he had not done enough to support America’s working class on wages.

Although labor has welcomed changing NAFTA, leaders have not been assured of the changes.

“NAFTA has had a devastating effect on the working people of this country for the last 20 years,” Trumka said on “Fox News Sunday.“ “We’re trying to reach a deal that benefits all three countries, and we’re not there yet.”

Mexico’s labor rights system and lower wages have been blamed for companies taking U.S. jobs south of the border and depressing American wages in the process. The Mexican government approved constitutional changes in 2017 to overhaul the labor arbitration system but has yet to pass legislation to implement them.

Trumka said labor has yet so see what has been worked out, saying that the revised deal is “missing whole chapters.”

“What we need is an agreement that we can enforce, no matter who’s in the White House,“ Trumka said.

Trump’s letter on Friday to Congress said labor rules will be “strictly enforced.” But sources close to the talks said the administration is still grappling with how it can press Mexico on enforcing tougher labor standards.

One idea under consideration would involve including a provision, possibly in a legislative package required to enact the deal, that would allow unions to directly petition for trade sanctions. Those penalties would be imposed under the same legal authority Trump used to hit China with Tariffs, sources said.

Lighthizer is also being urged to include in the legal text of any final deal a provision that would require goods imported from Mexico to be certified as having been manufactured under conditions that meet the deal’s labor rules, sources said.

Unions say they have good reason to question the ability of the American government to enforce labor rules in trade deals. Their go-to example is a crushing defeat the U.S. suffered after a slow-moving, nine-year trade dispute over Guatemala’s labor practices under the rules of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

The U.S. has already claimed that the labor rules agreed to by Mexico “represents the strongest provisions of any trade agreement.”

The U.S. and Mexico have also agreed to increase the required North American content of a vehicle from 62.5 percent to 75 percent, in an effort to get auto companies to source more parts in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico. At least one study, however, has questioned whether the new NAFTA language would actually create more auto jobs in the United States.

Democrats in Congress will also want proof that NAFTA 2.0 will lead to fundamental changes to Mexico’s labor system, said Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.).

Levin, a longtime House member and advocate for strong labor rights in trade deals, is retiring at the end of this term but is using his remaining days in Congress to press Mexico to move on legislation that would address issues like its system of employer-controlled unions.

Levin wrapped up a trip to Mexico last week, where he attended the swearing in of newly elected Mexican senators and visited workers from two tire plants in San Luis Potosi. One group at a Continental Tire factory has been able to organize under an independent union and earn about $6 per hour, while workers at a Goodyear plant organized under a state-backed union earn only $1.32 per hour, according to a fact sheet from his office.

“There’s been some outreach and the labor movement doesn’t want to shut the door,“ he said in an interview from Mexico City. “But I think the labor movement is very emphatic that what comes through the door is something that will very much change a structure that has led to the loss of jobs in the U.S. and downward pressure on wages.”

Aubree Eliza Weaver contributed to this report.