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INTERNATIONAL LABOR

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PROGRAMS related to International Labor issues
 
INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

The L&EC works with several international labor organizations:

  • International Association of Democratic Lawyers [IADL]
  • International Commission for Labor Rights [ICLR]
    • International Commission for Labor Rights (ICLR) releases report -  SHINY CARS, SHATTERED DREAMS.  A report on precarious workers in the Chennai automobile hub, their working conditions, and the challenges they face in the exercise of their right to freedom of association, based on worker narratives together with an analysis of the legality of precarious work under national and international law.  The report studies the widespread use of precarious workers in the Chennai automobile hub in the State of Tamil Nadu in India by certain multinational auto companies and their supplier companies, and evaluates the legality of such work under international law, based on the fundamental rights model of the UDHR, as well as domestic law.  The report comes at a time when labour law reforms aimed at enhancing flexibility for employers in the manufacturing sector are on the anvil. The findings in the report establish that the need of the hour is to enhance protection for precarious workers in the manu¬facturing sector both under the law and in practice, and not to increase flexibility for employers.  The report also establishes that it not just the generation of additional jobs that matters but also the quality of employment. The findings draw attention to the urgent need to improve the conditions of employment of precarious workers. The report also underscores the need for creating a suitable climate to enable all workers in the auto sector to effectively exercise their freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.  Click here for the report.  Click here for the ICLR webpage regarding the report.

    • International Commission for Labor Rights (ICLR) files Amicus Brief in Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO v Roundy's urging the NLRB to follow International Labor Organization Precedent - click here for more information.
  • International Centre for Trade Union Rights [ICTUR]
  •  Labor Council for Latin American Advancement [LCLAA]

NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEES


INTERNATIONAL LABOR RESOURCES by COUNTRY 

CANADA  

COLOMBIA  

  • Letter to Álvaro Uribe Vélez, President, Republic of Colombia, regarding the assassination of yet another Columbian labor leader, Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, a former Nestlé employee and leader of the foodworkers' union, SINALTRAINAL.   

CUBA   

  • Click here for more details about the LEC annual Cuba program

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JORDAN  

  • AFL-CIO Files Complaint Under US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement.  On September 21, 2006 the AFL-CIO and the National Textile Association jointly filed a complaint under the labor chapter of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement, alleging that the Jordanian government is not in compliance with its obligations under the FTA to respect ILO core labor standards and to enforce its own domestic labor laws. 

    This complaint, submitted to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), focuses on key aspects of the Jordanian labor code, including trade union governance and control, the rights of association and collective bargaining, and worker protections, that fall below core labor standards and/or are not enforced by the Jordanian government.  The complaint also details the systematic abuses to which workers, most of whom are immigrants, are subject to Jordan's export zones.  

    This is the first complaint under the labor chapter of the Jordan FTA.  It also marks the first time that a business association has joined with a labor union in insisting on effective enforcement of the labor rights provisions included in a free trade agreement.  The USTR has not yet set up a formal mechanism for accepting labor submissions.  However, the USTR has responded to the filing by stating that it will "keep open all options available under the FTA," and that the information and recommendations contained in the complaint will "prove useful" as it continues to engage the Jordanian government over ways to improve the situation of workers in Jordan.  The
     
    complaintexecutive summary, and press release are available.

MEXICO   

  • NAFTA at 20 is a new report from the AFL-CIO, which summarizes the unfortunate experiences of workers in Mexico, Canada and the United States in the twenty years following passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). With the NAFTA model proving to be the template for additional trade deals in the past two decades and the Obama administration negotiating two massive trade deals, this report is particularly timely.  Click here for full report. 

  • Mexico Days of Action, 18-24 February, 2013.  Click here for more information.
  • Declaration of the International Tribunal on Trade Union Freedom, May 1, 2010 
    • The International Tribunal on Freedom of Association was formed in September 2009 to investigate allegations of gross violations of fundamental human rights by the Mexican government, acting in complicity with transnational corporations and official unions, against the workers and leaders of Mexico's independent trade union movement. The accusations range from armed attacks on independent unions by the army, police and paramilitaries to mass firings, including the firing of all 44,000 members of the Mexican Electricity Workers Union. The Tribunal heard testimony and received documentary evidence from eighteen different independent unions and workers rights organizations over the course of several months.

The Final Resolution of the Tribunal, linked above, analyzes the evidence and arguments presented to the Tribunal, concludes that the government is guilty of almost all the allegations against it, demands prompt and full remediation, appeals for solidarity from the international labor movement, and declares the intention to seek the intervention of pertinent international bodies such as the International Labor Organization. Also linked above is the shorter Declaration of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was composed of prominent labor and human rights experts from all over the Americas and Europe. The L&E Committee was represented on the Tribunal by Co-Chair Dean Hubbard. Cynthia Mellon and Dean Hubbard prepared the English translation of the Tribunal's Final Resolution, which will be used in the proceedings before the ILO and other international agencies whose official language is English.

    • NLG resolution condemning the Mexican government's seizure of power plants operated by the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) while simultaneously liquidating the state-owned Light and Power Company and firing the entire workforce of approximately 43,000 employees. 

    • The CLC Cross Border Education Committee and the San Diego Maquiladora Workers Solidarity Network invite you to participate in one of our next two tours.  Click here for information and reservations or call Herb Shore (619) 251-3011.
    • National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADL) - the network of Mexican democratic labor lawyers (the Mexican affiliate of ALAL) - for more information email anadmexico@yahoo.com.mx 
    • National Union for Social Security Workers (SNTSS) - the Mexican union representing social security workers - Click here for the website of SNTSS

    RESOURCES - GENERALLY

    • Click here for the United Steelworkers Nov 8, 2006 press release regarding their NAFTA Labor Complaint Against Mexico.  For more information contact Jerry Fernandez (412) 562-2611 or Dan Kovalik (412) 562-2541. 

    • Click here for the report from the NLG Labor & Employment Committee delegation to the International Meeting of Lawyers and Unionists in Defense of Social Security and Public Enterprises on July 28 - 30, 2005, in Mexico City, Mexico.

    • Click here for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee [FLOC] appeal for support (June 2005) in connection with the renewed efforts by the Mexican government to deport Brendan Greene, FLOC's chief bi-lingual organizer in Monterrey, Mexico. Given the importance of Brendan's work in Mexico and the importance of the issues involved for the international farmworker work force employed in the United States, we urge your immediate action.  For more info contact Bob Willis (919) 821-9031.

    • Click here for the Public Communication to the U.S. National Administrative Office under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALCConcerning the Introduction of Reforms to the Federal Labor Code of Mexico (Abascal Project), Which Would Seriously Diminish Current Labor Standards, including the Right to Freely Associate, to Organize and to Bargain Collectively, in Violation of the Mexican Constitution, ILO Conventions Adopted By Mexico, and the NAALC.  This was submitted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLAand numerous labor organizations on February 17, 2005.

    • Click here for a brief explanation of the Abascal proposal and the NAALC submission.

    • Click here for the press release of February 17, 2005.