Retired Rail Workers Protest Unpaid Benefits at US-Mexico Border

Glenn Taylor
·4 min read
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While Mexico surpassed China as the top trading partner of the U.S. in 2023, protests from retired railroad workers at the U.S.-Mexico border show that trade between the countries may not always be smooth sailing.

According to the Railway Union Reconstruction Front (FERRO), the former rail workers held protests and blockades at three U.S.-Mexico border crossings linked to Arizona and Texas on Wednesday, seeking unpaid benefits and severance pay, and more communication from the federal government.

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The blockades by the former rail workers have roots all the way back to 1997, when the Mexican government privatized its state-run railroad. At the time, roughly 3,000 workers opted for retirement, while 16,700 workers either resigned or were laid off. Many of the retired or terminated workers claim they have not received benefits or severance payments stemming from the privatization.

In 2022, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a decree for the former railroad workers for back pay and benefits. But despite López Obrador’s decree, FERRO leaders said in a press conference that the promise has not been fulfilled by the country’s Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB), and that it “lacks a start date and has been relegated to an indefinite status.”

Protests and blockades occurred in three separate transportation areas in Mexico neighboring the U.S. They took place at the World Trade International Bridge connecting Laredo, Texas, with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico; the Ysleta-Zaragoza International Bridge connecting El Paso, Texas, and Cuidad Juarez; and the Mariposa Port of Entry connecting the twin cities of Nogales, located on both sides of the border.

“There is a protest by retired railroad workers taking place on the Mexico side of World Trade Bridge that is currently impeding all north and southbound commercial truck traffic,” stated an email from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the trade community.

According to Mexican officials, freight traffic at the World Trade International Bridge stopped for about five hours.

The U.S.-Mexico border has been a major point of contention in the political world, with border security and illegal immigration serving as some of the biggest issues in the looming 2024 U.S. presidential election. The subject has gotten so combative that House Republicans voted Tuesday to impeach U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his oversight of the border.

But when it comes to the North American supply chain, the southern border requires both security and a constant flow of goods—particularly as nearshoring becomes a more popular option for businesses looking to move production away from areas like China and Southeast Asia.

Shein has reportedly been planning a factory in Mexico for months now, despite never confirming the move. And in the past week alone, freight broker Arrive Logistics and third-party logistics (3PL) provider BlueGrace Logistics, unveiled offices in Guadalajara. Both logistics companies specifically cited the growth of nearshoring as reasons for the move.

One of the main protest locations is central to U.S.-Mexico trade relations.

The bordering cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo represent a major trade point between the two countries, with the inland Port of Laredo in Texas responsible for 6.3 percent of U.S. trade in 2023—leading total port market share in the U.S ahead of the Port of Los Angeles at 5.7 percent.

Last year, trade at the Port of Laredo was valued at $319.9 billion, an increase of 7.2 percent through December, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Upcoming infrastructure projects at the port include building eight additional lanes at the World Trade Bridge and a new international rail bridge financed by rail operator Kansas City Southern.

Freight brokerage and 3PL C.H. Robinson has recognized the value Laredo brought to the table, opening up a 400,000-square-foot cross-border facility in the trade area in September, expanding its total footprint in the city to 660,000 square feet across three warehouses. In total, C.H. Robinson operates 1.5 million square feet of logistics space along the U.S.-Mexico border. The new complex has room for 700 trailers and hosts 154 double-sided dock doors.

Truckload broker RXO also opened a $30 million, 127,000-square-foot facility in Laredo last April.

The rail worker protests didn’t exclusively occur at trade chokepoints, as demonstrations were also held in the Mexico City’s main plaza, Zócalo. Members of FERRO also held protests and blockades in front of President López Obrador’s administration building in the plaza.

“We do not know if the president of Mexico is aware of this situation,” said Eduardo Canales Aguiar, president of FERRO. “If he is, there is agreement on his part, but since we have no way of knowing, nor an answer regarding the application of the project, what we have left is to express ourselves publicly in protest of the mistreatment that we have been subjected to.”