On his way out the door George W wants to kick Workers one more time.  The Administration is starting a huge push to get the Colombian "Free Trade" Agreemnt passed by Congress.  Please contact your Representative today and ask him or here to vote NO if the Colombian Trade Agreement comes to a vote.  Despite claims of "progress" Colombia stilll remains the most dangerous place in the world to be a Labor Leader.  It is also the eaisest place in the world to get away with murdering labor leaders.

After unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement with congressional leaders to bring the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to a vote, the Bush Administration is now signaling that it will send the Free Trade Agreement to Congress over the Democrats' objections and demand a vote before Bush leaves office.  The Administration may formally send up the agreement after Congress returns from its Easter recess on March 31.  Under Fast Track rules, the House of Representatives would likely face and up or down vote on Colombia before the end of July.

Please take a moment to voice your concern over the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to your U.S. Senator and Congressperson

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Please vote no on the Colombian "Free Trade" Agreement.

Assassinations and detentions are examples of the brutal consequences that befall some trade union activists who choose to exercise their rights in their workplaces and their communities in Colombia. Since the mid-1980s, over 3,000 trade unionists have murdered in Colombia making it the most dangerous country for trade unionists in the world. I stand together with the international community of trade unionists and human rights advocates in condemning the assassinations and attacks on our Colombian brothers and sisters. Continued harassment of labor leaders has contributed to a climate of impunity for the killers of trade unionists. By portraying union activism as seditious, the Colombian Government often has discouraged rather than promoted negotiation of conflict and dispute resolution. Colombia must cease the detention of trade unionists without just cause and ensure they receive due process especially Samuel Morales Florez and Maria Raquel Castro who have been jailed since 2004 without a trial. The Colombian Government should also conduct a thorough investigation of the murders of Leonel Goyeneche, Jorge Prieto Chamucero and Hector Alirio Martinez and ensure that the case be brought to justice as quickly as possible. U.S. foreign aid and trade programs should be conditioned on an end to impunity for those who assassinate Colombian trade unionists.

Any free trade agreement that does not include strong and effective mechanisms to protect labor and human rights should not be approved by Congress. The Colombian Free Trade Agreement, in its current state, fails to protect labor rights and represents a step back from existing U.S. protections for worker rights under U.S. trade programs. If this agreement is passed in its present form, it would greatly weaken U.S. leverage to improve respect for labor rights in Colombia.

Colombia claims there has been a downturn in the number of assasinations. That is true in raw numbers but the number of trade unionist in Colombia has declined dramatically so the rate killings is as high as ever.

There has been a little, but not enough, progress in Colombia to find and convict the murders of trade unionist. Trade unionists continue to be targeted for their normal union activities and the Colombian government has essentially let most of these killings go unpunished.

I respectfully urge you to not support the Colombian Free Trade Agreement if brought to Congress without assurance that it will have effective and enforceable mechanisms to protect worker rights in Colombia.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
January 30, 2008