Free Trade Agreements and Trade Policy

USLEAP Releases Report on Worker Rights Under New Guatemalan Government

August 12, 2008 --

USLEAP released a full report on its conclusions from a fact-finding mission to Guatemala in July. The report details the status of worker rights under the new government of Alvaro Colom.

McCain Visits Colombia, High-Profile FARC Hostages are Freed, and Violence Against Workers Continues

July 3, 2008 --

Colombia returned to the headlines this week with John McCain's visit and the surprising rescue of 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

Struggles Continue for Central American Maquila Workers

June 11, 2008 --

In this season's review of maquila struggles in Central America, workers face more factory closings, continue to push for negotiations, and fight against economic hardship.

Big Jump in Murders of Colombian Workers in 2008

June 11, 2008 --

According to a report released this spring by the Escuela Nacional Sindical, Colombia’s leading source for data on anti-union violence, there was a notable increase in murders of trade union members

Colombia Free Trade Agreement in Limbo

June 9, 2008 --

The status of the highly controversial US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement was in limbo as of mid-May, following an April furor when, in an unprecedented move, the Bush administration submitted the bill

Violence Against Central American Trade Unionists Surges

June 6, 2008 --

Violence against trade unionists in Central America has surged this year, with at least four trade union-related murders and a gang rape in Guatemala since the beginning of 2008, a top union leader

New Bill Proposes Review of Trade Agreements

June 5, 2008 --

Senator Sherrod Brown and Representative Mike Michaud announced the introduction of the TRADE Act on June 2nd at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Violence Against Trade Unionists in Central America Spreads to Honduras; Top Union Leader Gunned Down

May 5, 2008 --

On April 24, the general secretary of the Workers’ Confederation of Honduras (CTH) was shot 16 times by six masked men and killed, along with another trade unionist and her motorcyclist on a well

First CAFTA Complaint Filed; Upsurge in Violence Against Guatemalan Unionists Denounced

April 29, 2008 --

On April 23, the AFL-CIO and Guatemalan trade unions filed the first CAFTA worker rights complaint since the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2006.

Colombian Flower Worker Visits US, Denounces Dole

April 18, 2008 --

Getting permission to use the restroom at the La Fragancia flower plantation in Colombia “is like winning the lottery,” according to Dora Acero, the Secretary of Education for the union at the

 
 

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