U.S. Unions Call for a Reconfiguration of U.S. Policy Towards Colombia

Seven major U.S. unions, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), and the President of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, signed onto a November 20 letter to the U.S. Congress supporting a call for a new U.S. policy towards Colombia.  The union letter draws attention to a “Dear Colleague” letter sponsored by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Donald Payne (D-NJ), and Mike Honda (D-CA) that is currently circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a reconfiguration of U.S. aid and policy to address, among other things, the ongoing issues of violence against trade unionists and human right violations that plague the country.

The U.S. unions urge representatives not only to sign onto the Dear Colleague letter but also express their concerns for the Colombian government’s lack of political will to address violence against union members and the near total level of impunity.  In 2008, there were 49 trade unionists murdered in Colombia making it once again the country with more assassinations of unionists than the rest of the world combined.

Signing the letter were AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen, Teamsters General President James Hoffa, National President Milton Rosado of LCLAA, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel, United Autoworkers President Ron Gettelfinger, General President John H. Holvis, Jr. of the United Electrical Workers, International President Leo W. Gerard of the United Steelworkers, and President of UNITE HERE, John W. Wilhelm.

More than 2,700 unionists have been murdered in Colombia in the last two decades with minimal to no advances within the legal systems.  In 2008, the Prosecutor General’s Office only produced convictions in the cases of 49 murdered trade unionists, which was offset by the same number of assassinations that year.  The union-supported letter also highlights the flaws of the Justice and Peace Process stating the Colombia government has failed to make appropriate use of the information revealed in paramilitary confessions to create a strategic approach to systematically prosecute these cases in a way that systematically recognizes the nature of violence against union members.

Emphasizing the government-led attacks on unions and human rights organizations as well as the extrajudicial killings of civilians by the Colombian military, the union signatories also reiterate their long-standing opposition to the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement arguing that such agreement would continue promoting a race to the bottom in terms of wages, working conditions, and respect for the basic rights of workers.

The Dear Colleague letter to Secretary Clinton closes noon on Friday, December 4, 2009.  To support a new approach to U.S. policy towards Colombia, click here.