Labor Union Blog

By Doug Cunningham

As the military dictator Musharraf continues imposing martial law in Pakistan, trade unionists are among those being arrested as the people protest the crushing of constitutional law. Dick Blin is with the international labor federation ICEM.

[Blin]: "It has become harder human rights wise now since the decree came down. But in fact in Pakistan it was always very difficult, where it isn't just the government but some of these extreme groups who don't want to see secular trade unions rear their head. The American citizens have a good reason to ask, 'Well, what's happened to all of the billions that have gone into aid since Musharraf signed on with Bush after 9/11. The ICEM would definitely encourage people that are interested to send messages to the government of Pakistan saying they've got to withdraw this decree and hold free and democratic elections."

The House has passed historic legislation protecting employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Jesse Russell has more:

By Jesse Russell

While the Employee Non-Discrimination Act will protect employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation its fate is not yet known. If it passes the Senate, President George W. Bush has vowed to veto it. Carolyn Maloney of New York explained why she voted in favor of the legislation:

[Maloney]: "It is legal in 30 states to fire someone simply because he or she is gay, lesbian, trans, or bisexual. Hard working, taxpaying Americans shouldn’t be forced into the shadows and live with the fear that they can lose their jobs."

By Doug Cunningham

The National Education Association – America’s biggest union – is working in close coordination now with the AFL-CIO on politics. The NEA’s Karen White says that unprecedented coordination on the ground in Kentucky proved to be a powerful synthesis and more is in store for 2008.

[White]: “It really is the beginning of the NEA's new and expanding political program. In 2008 the NEA has dedicated over $30 million to its national political program and will be undertaking one of our largest grassroots mobilization efforts in history."

White, formerly the Political Director of Emily’s List, says the 3.2 million member NEA is retooling its political mobilization efforts to become even more active and more effective.

We applaud these changes as welcome and much-needed improvements, particularly with respect to workers’ rights. However, the Peru template is far from perfect, and more work needs to be done to address other important concerns….

We are justifiably skeptical about whether the Bush administration will faithfully enforce the newly negotiated labor and environment protections, since this administration has done such a poor job enforcing these provisions in existing trade agreements. The damage done to working families by flawed trade policies runs deep. It will take much more than some improvements to a bilateral free trade agreement to fix it. Congress must act to address the fundamental economic issues that have a direct impact on the lives of working people: correcting currency manipulation, ending incentives for offshoring jobs, adopting a progressive tax policy and investing in the workforce of the 21st century.