Blog: October 2008

Trade and the last presidential debate

October 16, 2008

Obama responded by saying, "The history in Colombia right now is that labor leaders have been
targeted for assassination on a fairly consistent basis and there have
not been prosecutions. And what I have said, because the free
trade -- the trade agreement itself does have labor and environmental
protections, but we have to stand for human rights and we have to make
sure that violence isn't being perpetrated against workers who are just
trying to organize for their rights..." 

Sugar cane workers' strike in Colombia

October 15, 2008

Proponents of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement argue that labor standards
have improved dramatically under President Álvaro Uribe, but has the government
responded to support the needs of the sugar cane workers? Of course not. In
what continues to be the world’s most dangerous country to be a union member,
Uribe has decried the strike as a national security threat while meeting with
ASOCANA’s leaders at a national military base. Meanwhile, strikers attempt to
communicate that they can no longer work under the present circumstances, with
salaries as low as 200 dollars a month and work days as long as 14 hours.

Pro-Labor or Pro-Vote?

October 10, 2008

Obama has expressed a pro-labor position to the agreement and calls for more strict labor and environmental provisions within the current FTA. According to trade lobbyists and union representatives in a recent article from The Hill, the Colombia deal has better shot under Obama. Union representatives believe Obama would be more likely to enforce labor laws than McCain.

The issue of trade in Latin America was not a hot topic during the second presidential debate this Tuesday. However, while watching I wondered:

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

October 9, 2008

We wish our sisters here well in their efforts to convince the US
Supreme Court that retaliation against women speaking out against this
terrible abuse should never be permitted, and we truly hope that
governments and courts around the world will begin, finally, to protect
those who dare to tell the truth about harassment.

Here is more information about sexual violence in the workplace:

Radiohead Takes on Sweatshops

October 5, 2008

I think the video does a good job of showing some of the abuses that occur in the production of goods consumed around the world.  It reminds me of the documentary about Wal-Mart: "The High Cost of Low Prices."  A lot of the work that ILRF does along with the other organizations behind this blog seeks to show U.S. consumers and policymakers how our purchasing practices and lack of labor law enforcement impacts workers around the world. 

The Latest Election Rhetoric on Sweatshops: No News is Bad News

October 3, 2008

All of this
searching made me start to think. Perhaps, the reason there is so little
information about their stances on sweatshops is because we as a movement have
not be very focused on politics and have instead been focusing much more on corporate
activism. Obviously, there are exceptions and there is a lot of work going on
in procurement by cities and states by Sweat-free Communities and on trade
policies by most groups in who regularly write on this blog. But have we done
enough to force our government (and other governments and international bodies)
to deal with the sweatshop issue? Are activists actively engaging their elected
officials on these issues?

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