AFL-CIO Delegation to Colombia: ‘No Trade Deal Until Murders, Union-Busting Stop’ & video

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/13/afl-cio-delegation-to-colombia-no-trade-deal-until-murders-union-busting-stop/

by James Parks, Feb 13, 2008

A delegation of AFL-CIO leaders to Colombia wound up a two-day fact-finding trip today by telling Colombian President Alvaro Uribe the U.S. union movement cannot support the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until real progress is made to protect the lives and rights of trade union members.

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Emerita Linda Chavez-Thompson, Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen and United Steelworkers (USW) counsel Dan Kovalik met over the past two days with Colombian union leaders, International Labor Organization representatives in Colombia and elected leaders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnlX47g4GFU

They found Colombia’s unionists still operate in a climate of fear in the country, where 38 trade unionists were murdered in 2007. They also ascertained the government has systematically undermined union members’ rights while exerting little effort to address the murders of Colombian trade unionists, despite some new government initiatives.

As Chavez-Thompson says:

Despite the Colombian and United States governments’ assertions to the contrary, there has been too little real progress in ending the brutality that trade unionists face in Colombia. In 2008 alone, five trade unionists have been murdered—almost one per week.

In the meeting with Uribe, the delegation pressed him to do more to end the impunity surrounding the murders of trade unionists.

Chavez-Thompson added:

The meeting with President Uribe was important to send a strong message of solidarity with the Colombian unions. Our job here is to support them in their struggle to rebuild the union movement after decades of violence and the steady erosion of legal rights.

Yesterday, the delegation met with the leaders of the major Colombian labor federations in a round table exchange about the rights of trade unionists in Colombia and the United States. All the Colombian union leaders told the delegation they oppose any free trade deal between the United States and Colombia until the government takes strong action to stop the violence against trade union members and ends the government’s assaults on union rights. They emphasized that the trade agreement in its current form will create more economic insecurity in their country and hurt workers more.

FULL story at link.