USLEAP | Fighting for worker justice in the global economy.

August 26, 2010 --

Following a national and international campaign to protest violence against members of an independent union at one of its plants in Puebla, Mexico, Johnson Controls signed an agreement on August 20, 2010 that offers reinstatement to two members of the executive committee who had been forced to resign, provides economic compensation to workers who had been beaten, and severs ties with the “yel

Johnson Controls Workers In Mexico Attacked

August 18, 2010 --

On August 16, 2010, thugs entered a plant owned by Johnson Controls in Puebla, Mexico, and assaulted them, according to reports, "with sticks and stones, leaving many injured." Two of the members of the Executive Committee of the newly formed union at the plant, Cándido Barreucos and Vigilio Melendez, were beaten in a company office and forced to sign letters of resignation, re

US Government Moves on Guatemala CAFTA Labor Complaint

August 2, 2010 --

Over two years after the filing of the first labor complaint under CAFTA, the US government has agreed to take formal action against Guatemala. On July 30, the US Department of Labor announced it had requested consultations with the government of Guatemala to address worker rights violations cited in a complaint filed

Free Trade Agreements and Trade Policy

Second CAFTA Labor Complaint Filed; Supports Costa Rican Port Workers

July 22, 2010 --

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) joined two Costa Rican unions this week to file a labor complaint against the Costa Rican government for failing to abide by the labor chapter of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). It is only

Free Trade Agreements and Trade Policy

Banking on Insecurity

July 12, 2010 --

Worker rights violations in Colombia, as elsewhere in Latin America, are not limited to murder and violence but can take more subtle yet still effective forms, as evidenced in a study of the banking sector in Colombia prepared by former USLEAP Regional Coordinator Suzanna Collerd.

Mexican Government Agrees to Negotiate with Unions; Support Requested

August 2, 2010 --

The Mexican government has agree to enter negotiations to resolve two major labor conflicts, one with the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) and one with the Mexican Miners and Metal Workers Union (SNTMMRM). The second conflict dates back to a strike launched in 2007 that has been marred by violence

Obama Reviving Bush Free Trade Agreements

July 26, 2010 --

The Obama Administration has begun to push more aggressively to revive the Free Trade agenda of the Bush and Clinton Administrations, initiating negotiations for a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and saying it will push for a vote on three pending FTAs negotiated by the Bush Administration, including Colombia. The Administration is expected to

Sweatfree Breakthrough for College Apparel

July 20, 2010 --

Next month college campuses across the country will give students the chance to buy “sweatfree” collegiate apparel thanks to a breakthrough initiative in the Dominican Republic. A unionized factory paying a living wage where workers face none of the abusive conditions typical in sweatshops across the globe is now producing apparel for the college market.

Sweatshop Initiative

One-Year Anniversary of Coup in Honduras

June 28, 2010 --

Today, on the first anniversary of the coup that ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, thousands mobilize across Honduras to attend the massive marches and demonstrations organized by the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP).