US and Korean labor say ’NO’ to NAFTA repeat
Change To Win | June 6, 2006
U.S. and Korean Labor Say ’NO’ to NAFTA Repeat
WASHINGTON, June 6 /U.S. Newswire/ — Leaders of the four main labor federations in the United States and Korea today joined forces to tell their governments to slow down negotiations of a U.S.-Korea Free Trade agreement (KORUS FTA). The leaders from Change to Win (CtW), the AFL-CIO, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) signed a joint statement expressing their concerns about the launch of free trade agreement negotiations that begin in Washington this week.
Saying that preliminary negotiations and statements from their respective governments indicate that the KORUS FTA is following the failed NAFTA model, which sacrificed workers’ rights and environmental protections in favor of strong protections for multinational corporate interests, the groups called for a moratorium on the FTA talks so that the governments can create a labor-friendly model of trade and cooperation, consult with civil society groups including labor unions, conduct social impact evaluations and negotiate in a transparent manner. They also called on their governments to ratify the International Labour Organization’s conventions 87 and 98, which call for all workers to have the freedom to associate and organize.
"This administration seems to think that ’free trade’ means they get to freely trade workers’ rights and protections for the benefit and profit of global corporations," said Anna Burger, chair of Change to Win. "We need fair trade, not trade that leads to fewer jobs, lower pay, worsened working conditions and environmental degradation."
The groups outlined the negative impacts brought about by NAFTA including the loss of more than 1 million jobs and job opportunities in the U.S., and increasing downward pressure on both U.S. and Mexican wages. They also pointed to the economic problems in Korea that have led to an increased speculative investment and "jobless growth" and expressed concern that the proposed FTA could accelerate and deepen these trends.
The groups vowed that unless the process is open and take into account the serious concerns of working people and the unions that represent them, that they will join together to strongly oppose the continued negotiation of the KORUS FTA and will work together to ensure that this agreement is not implemented.
Following the signing of the joint statement, members of CtW and AFL-CIO unions demonstrated in front of the office of the U.S. Trade representative against the KORUS FTA process.
About Change to Win
Founded in September 2005, Change to Win is a federation of seven unions representing 6 million workers devoted to building a movement of working people with the power to provide workers a paycheck that supports a family, affordable health care, a secure retirement and dignity on the job. The seven affiliated unions are: Service Employees International Union, UNITE HERE, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Laborers’ International Union of North America, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and United Farm Workers of America.
