United Steelworkers Request Canadian Criminal Intervention Against Orla Mining
This article by María del Pilar Martínez originally appeared in the May 27, 2026 edition of El Economista.
Editor’s note: Please read our 2024 interview with Jaime Pulido León, a leader of the local chapter of the Los Mineros mineworkers’ union who, along with the union was driven from the mine by organized crime groups connected to Orla Mining.
The United Steelworkers (USW) union formally requested the Attorney General of Canada to initiate criminal proceedings against Orla Mining, owner of the Camino Rojo mine in Zacatecas, following the publication of a report by an investigation panel of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The union organization bases its request on the determination of violations of freedom of association and the existence of alleged links with external groups that exercised violence against the workers.
The request comes after the trade agreement’s Rapid Response Mechanism confirmed that mine personnel were pressured to abandon their membership in the Los Mineros union. The investigating panel found that a company contractor created unsafe conditions by having armed individuals infiltrate union meetings and issue threats against workers’ representatives.
The USMCA panel report indicates that workers at the mining unit in Zacatecas were urged to join a union organization other than the one they originally chose.
Reports documented by the dispute resolution mechanism indicate that an Orla Mining service provider maintained a presence on the premises to interfere with union activities. These events resulted in union leaders being relocated to other sites for their personal safety.
Orla Mining, an entity currently being acquired by Equinox Gold, issued a statement on May 4, 2026. In this document, the company established a commitment to union neutrality and a training program for its staff on freedom of association.
However, workers’ representatives say that these measures do not resolve the situation of people who remain away from their workplaces due to threats reported during the conflict.
The legal framework of the USMCA establishes deadlines for the government receiving the complaint to determine whether to conduct an internal investigation.
Currently, the Mexican government has the file for its analysis following the notification sent by Canada at the end of April.
The union is seeking to advance the case to the formation of an international panel to establish reparation mechanisms that will allow the employees to return to the mine area in safe conditions.
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Clicks
Our weekly roundup of stories in the English and Spanish language press on Mexico and Mexican politics including universal healthcare, day labourers, US imperialism and mining, the Orla mining narco connection, public grocery stores, and the PEMEX oil spill.
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Camino Rojo & The Narco Cover-up
The state’s unwillingness to deal with criminality & union-busting at Camino Rojo means the Canadian corporation Orla Mining is laughing all the way to the bank, along with its drug-trafficking cronies who protect its interests at gunpoint.
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Camino Rojo: Impunity & Reluctance
What special privilege do mining corporations (both national and foreign) enjoy in Mexico, where they get away with everything, even in these times when the law is supposed to be applied equally without exception?
