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AFL-CIO Urges Congress to ‘Stop the Colombia Free Trade Agreement’ |
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As the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is being introduced on Capitol Hill, working families are launching an advertising campaign to get Congress to reject the deal.An ad sponsored by the AFL-CIO will run in three Capitol Hill newspapers tomorrow. The ad urges lawmakers “Don’t Reward Murder. Stop the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.” (Click here to tell your representative to oppose a trade deal with Colombia until their government makes real progress in protecting the lives and rights of union members. Click here to download a PDF of our ad.)
The ad features a photo of a Colombian woman crying over the casket of a loved one. Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade union member. Thirty-nine trade unionists were murdered in 2007, and another 17 have been killed in 2008—a rate of more than one a week. Of the more than 2,500 murders of trade unionists since 1986, the government has successfully prosecuted less than 3 percent of these cases.
Despite the strong objections of the leadership of both the U.S. House and the Senate, President Bush decided to send the agreement to Congress and to try and force a vote before he leaves office in January. Bush’s stubborn insistence on pushing a deal opposed by most workers in both countries “shows an outrageous disregard for basic human and workers’ rights,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says.
Once the agreement is submitted, Congress has 90 legislative days to act under the Fast Track trade authority rules that expired in July 2007 but still apply to deals pending at that time. In part, the ad says the fight against the Colombia FTA is
about even more than the wrong-headed trade policies that have cost our country millions of manufacturing jobs, boosted trade deficits to record levels and shredded the paychecks of U.S. workers. It’s about cold-blooded murder.
Congress should refuse to approve this agreement until workers in Colombia can exercise their fundamental human rights without fear. Working families in Colombia as well as in the United States deserve no less.
To check out the ad and learn more about why the U.S.-Colombia FTA is bad for workers in both countries, click here to visit our Colombia FTA website.
Yesterday, when Bush announced he was sending the FTA to Capitol Hill, members of Congress expressed their outrage. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), co-founder of the House Trade Working Group, said:
The Colombia FTA is dead on arrival. Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi has publicly indicated Congress can’t take up an agreement with Colombia until the horrific violence and labor rights record are addressed. Despite the warnings, President Bush is forcing a vote and turning a blind eye toward the egregious human rights violations in Colombia. Yet again, the administration is pushing an agenda under the guise of national security in order to promote its own interests.
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With introduction of the Colomiban FTA to congress President Bush has done a great disservice to the workers and people of both countries. By waiting until Colombia makes more progress there is a greater possibility of getting a fair trading partner for the US, a viable market for US goods and an improvement in worker and human rights for more citizens of the world. By forcing either a yes or no vote at this time a loose/loose situation has been created. Passage would continue a string of bad trade agreements that has cost the USA many jobs and created a trade imbalance that has contributed to a large economic turn down. Not to mention that it would condone and cement the actions of a massively corrupt South American government that services the rich at the expense of the worker. Defeat of the bill will put strains on a potential future good trading partner and possibly stop the Colombian government from continuing improving its work against worker and human rights abuses.
Colombia is a beautiful country with many wonderful people. Under the direction of President Uribe it has made great strides in many areas. I doubt there many leaders in the world who could accomplish what he has. And if I thought that passing the FTA would help continue that trend while helping the American worker and economy I would be writing every single congressman in the USA urging for the passage of the FTA. If passed the FTA can help in certain small areas and for some people. But in overall to helping the majority of both countries it will most likely do the opposite until further changes are made in Colombia.
Uribe’s efforts are frequently thwarted by corrupt politicians, impunity from the law for many, military with its own agenda and flawed policies. In 2003 he delivered a speech in which he said, “Everyone from peasants to city dwellers must be heard and their demands must be promptly answered in order for them to trust our efforts. The country’s soldiers and police must persuade the public about the goodness of their work.”
I believe that Uribe tries for what he said, but reality at the moment is different. Military members on the payroll of a drug lord murdered members of an elite drug unit about to take down a drug lord. Since 2004 the instances of murders of innocent citizens by the military has increased dramatically. And even when recently talking to the police commandante in a small town he said, “I do not wish to complicate my life by enforcing any law that the mayor does not agree with.”
A recent report by the Organization of American States says in regards to the over already over 3 million people displaced from their land, “They are being forcibly displaced and stripped of their communal lands by the criminal conduct of armed outlaws, with law enforcement either cooperating or looking the other way,”
While indeed Uribe has given protection to many union leaders and the number of deaths has decreased, Colombia still leads the world in these deaths. In addition an arrest and conviction rate of those murdering union members is less than 3%. When the above is combined with the fact that their own security forces might do nothing to actually helping the criminal elements you have an environment of worker fear that allows the rich to take advantage of them. Through corruption labor laws, though written, are at the discretion of those with money. Unfortunately providing an FTA at this time will just endorse and continue the practices and fear. Those low wages will be more conducive to more American jobs going to Colombia as has already been done by Owens Illinois when they closed their Godfrey plant moving operations to Colombia, causing a further strain on our already growing trade deficit and economy.
By more actively attacking corruption at all levels, making the law applicable to all and improving the quality and quantity of the justice system Colombia can become a fair trading partner for the USA and one in which an FTA will have great benefit for both countries. President Bush has jeopardized that possibility by submitting the FTA for a vote. In that light our best choice is to defeat the FTA at this time, but let Colombia know that we look forward to cooperating with them in other positive ways to achieve Uribe’s dream of how the people view the security forces and creating a fair trading partner benefiting both countries.
I think we should add terriost to the mix on the Colombia FTA the other side sure likes to use it. Why don’t we say we have had 17 terriost attacks on union leaders this year that has resulted in 17 deaths. If fact we are sponsoring terrorism if we have any trade relations with Colombia.
We will cooperate with Colombia but first we must cooperate with American Workers first. We must worry about our own foundations and clean up our own back yard before we worry too much about the neighbors.
So, explain to me what’s going on with Pelosi…I read that she’s pushing for a vote to change the rules and extend debate on this. Which sounds more like she wants extended debate so that she garner more support for the FTA.
Why are we even considering the idea of doing this and why is Colombia given any sort of preferential treatment now, because they are. From cut flowers to fruits and veges to goodness knows what else, they’re given preferential treatment even if that creates a new agribusinesses who pay little, provide no benefits and treat workers badly. So badly, that they MURDER them when they try to organize. I agree, this is terrorism and part of the problem are the special agreements and of course the new FTA. Sure looks like State Sponsored Terrorism, it’s just aimed at Colombians, so that is clearly, none of our business.
Hi, UnionGal!
Speaker Pelosi is pushing for passage of a measure that would remove the timeline for passage–Fast Track. That means Congress does not have to vote on it in 90 legislative days, and so won’t be pressued to move it through. If the bill passes, it would be a great thing. She’s not doing it to win more votes for it, because she opposes it. We’re about to post a blog on it now. Meantime, here’s Pelosi’s statement on it:
http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0601
Colombia has been the victim of its own military, an ineffective government, an international drug trade, and internal terrorism on a scale not equaled in the Western Hemisphere.
My wife and I studied Spanish in Bogotá for three months in 1964. When we had progressed enough to understand the newspapers we would read on a regular basis about the army’s capture or killing of a bandit called Tirofijo. Needless to say the reports were greatly exaggerated. Manuel Marulanda, alias Tirofijo, is alive and well and the leader of FARC, the largest guerilla organization in Colombia. Yet in 2006 alone, 80% of the $728 million of the aid we spent in Colombia went to the military, which has been singularly unable to accomplish what it set out to do 43 years ago. What it has accomplished is aiding and abetting the paramilitary groups who are responsible for the murder of union and cooperative leaders and their supporters on a regular basis. These murders go back at least to 1928 when the workers for United Fruit formed a union and struggled for an eight hour day and other conditions. Their supporters were massacred by the army in the public square on a Sunday morning, ostensibly to forestall a landing of U.S. troops, coming to aid Americans and protect the interests of United Fruit.
When will we stop deluding ourselves that peace can be attained through military intervention?
Another terrific George W. Bush program that’s sure to be a greater success than NAFTA! Can anyone name what we have exported to Mexico other than U.S. jobs? All Columbia is, is another impoverished nation where big business can go to exploit more labor. Make a quick buck today and forget about the long term effects to our own economy.
Colombia don’t need FTA with USA, we can get a good partnership with other great governments like Venezuela, Mr, Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President will like to involve Colombia as one important member of the new communistic region in the world, he will like to support our terrorist of FARC, they only kill a thousand of people including hundred kinder garden students in SEGOVIA school few years ago, also they kidnapping, foreign visitor to request payment.
Now democrats in USA said that they will no support FTA because its terrible country for unionist, so from now FARC will focus their attach to such people in order to sent such great signal or told to the democrats to attack the FTA.
Mr. Mark Levinson, Mr. Sherrod Brown, Ms. Olympia Snowe, Ms. Nancy Pelosi how many times they visited Colombia?
We are 45Millions populations country, and 44.8 Millions persons are hard workers, doing our best to get better country, but regrettable we have 200.000 persons within the terrorist groups, drugs traffickers,
Colombia and of the older democracy in America, with continue growing because our agriculture sectors (medium class families) very hard working to produce the best coffee, the most beautiful flowers, the best banana, the great creativity in textile products using our Colombian cotton production, Can you understand that this is no intensive crops?, Can you understand that our textile products come from small family industries, no from big industrials monopoly, Yes we are no rich people so we must do our hand work to produce more than 50% of our export, other export come from oil, coal and other natural resources.
“Colombia is … the most dangerous place in the world to”, before you said this you must get the opinion of thousand of US visitors that come to Colombia and enjoy their time with our people, if you don’t believe them, you are invited to visit Colombia at any time and see by your eyes.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment in your blog
Venezuela is already one of the largest traders with Colombia. And today the chief of the Organization of American States (Which the USA and Colombia are members of) when questioned about Venezuela support FARC said, “There is no evidence, and no member country, including this one (United States) has offered the OAS such proof,”
I agree that the vast majority of Colombians are hard working honest people and they deserve an FTA that will benefit them and not the rich and elite ruling the country.
Colombian cities are safer than many American cites. However unlike the USA it is the rural areas where most of the crime and terrorism happens and where terrorist groups as well as drug related mafiosos rule with pretty much impunity from the law.