U.S. and Guatemalan unions are demanding justice in the murder of Pedro Zamora.

During the congressional debates over the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the Bush administration repeatedly asserted the trade pact’s labor provisions were “world class, best ever” and that it would do much to strengthen labor protections and increase living conditions in the region. However, very little has changed in Guatemala. The at times violent suppression of workers for exercising their internationally recognized worker rights continues to be part of everyday life in Guatemala.   

In an effort to vindicate their rights, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan unions filed a petition, the first of its kind, under the labor provisions of CAFTA with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Trade & Labor Affairs. Click here to read the complaint.

The petition contains five cases. The first two concern the brutal murders of union leaders Pedro Zamora and Marco Tulio Ramirez, as well as ongoing threats against other leaders and union members. No serious investigation has been undertaken in either case and no one has been arrested or prosecuted for the crimes. 

The other three cases concern multiple labor law violations, including the illegal firing of workers for their union activity, the failure of the employers to bargain collectively with unions and the confiscation of social security payments by employers, among many other charges. In no case has the government succeeded in vindicating the rights of these workers. Click here to read an AFL-CIO fact sheet on the violence in Guatemala.

The unions urged the U.S. government to accept the complaint, enter into consultations and demand the Guatemalan government take all measures necessary to remedy the workers’ claims. If the consultations fail to bring about a resolution, they asked that the U.S. government invoke the dispute settlement mechanism and proceed forward until such time that the government of Guatemala complies with its laws.   

The petition also notes the surge in violence in Guatemala, with four murders related to union activity this year alone. Others have been the victims of attempted murder or death threats.  

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney observed:  

Guatemalan workers are being targeted for their union activity. Without the freedom from fear to join unions and bargain collectively, how can we expect any workers to benefit from a trade agreement? 

Sweeney called on the Bush administration to demand that Guatemala enforce its domestic laws and meet its international obligations to protect workers who speak out for their economic rights.  

In March 2007, we reported that when President Bush visited Guatemala, he did not see what workers in that country know all too well—a nation where children and adults are forced to work in sweatshops for little pay and under terrible conditions, where workers’ rights are ignored or not enforced.    

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