Free Trade Agreements and Trade Policy

This week marks the first anniversary of the filing of a CAFTA labor complaint on Honduras on March 26, 2012.  The complaint, submitted by two dozen Honduran unions and NGOs along with the AFL-CIO, documents the failure of the Honduran government to enforce its own labor laws, providing multiple cases of violations in the maquila, agricultural export, and port sectors. 

March 22 Update.   Take Action Now.  Workers reported this week that plain clothes security guards, employed by the company, have boarded buses that carry workers to the plantation, and with guns in hand, have threatened to kill workers if they support the union and join a peaceful protest that started on March 6.  Fired union workers are engaging in the protest; the threat of violence forced t

USLEAP has released a new report on the Colombian government’s 2012 compliance with a Labor Action Plan signed by both governments in April 2011.  The report is a comparative assessment that integrates analyses from the U.S. and Colombian governments, unions, and NGOs. 

October 24, 2012 Update:  Both houses of the Mexican Congress have passed a package of labor law changes that will roll back protections for workers as described below.  The Senate version passed this week and now must be approved or reconciled with the version passed by the lower house. 

An International Day of Action is being organized by Witness for Peace and others for Monday, September 17, in support of the Colombian workers on a hunger strike demanding justice from General Motors.  Join an action or organize your own; the health of the workers is deteriorating.   September 22 Update:  Following the International Day of Action, the General Motors workers in Colombia suspended their hunger strike to show their "commitment to a definitive solution to our demands, and to d