Winter Updates

March 2007: Payments to Colombia's paramilitary and guerilla groups, while not anti-union, underscore need to defeat trade agreement with Colombia.

March 9, 2007:  The number of trade unionists murdered in 2006 rose slightly over the previous year, according to a report released today by the leading non-governmental organization on labor issues in Colombia.

Report Released Blasting Colombian Flower Conditions

February 2007: Worker rights groups today released Valentine’s Day Report: Worker Justice and Basic Rights on Flower Plantations in Colombia and Ecuador, finding that flower workers in the region earn poverty-level wages, labor long hours, and suffer significant health problems due to over-exposure to harmful pesticides. The release of the report follows on the heels of a mass firing on Dole's Splendor Flowers Plantation. Read the full report here or the press release here. Take Action here!

Workers Report Anti-Union Behavior Leading Up to Closure 

February 2007: On Thursday February 22nd, 2007, the BJ&B hat factory, which sells to Nike and Adidas, closed down without warning, turning away workers when they arrived to work.

February 2007: The renewal of this controversial funding, the majority of which would go to the Colombian military, is being critiqued as "more of the same" by the Latin America Working Group. Read a commentary and a detailed breakdown of the funding request on Adam Isaacson's blog.