U.S. Trade Unions Ask Congress to Change Policy on Colombia
June 11th, 2007: Eleven U.S. trade union presidents as well as the presidents of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists signed a letter requesting that Congress reject the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and support any legislation that would cut military aid to the country. The signers represent almost 12 million workers around the United States. Read the full letter here. (pdf)
House Committee Cuts Back on Military Aid to Colombia
June, 2007: After years of unsuccessful efforts, opponents of more military aid to Colombia have succeeded in persuading Congress to change the balance of U.S. aid to the country. On June 12, the House Appropriations Committee approved a foreign aid bill for 2008 that would cut military aid to Colombia by $156 million. Read the full story.
U.S. Trade Unions Ask Congress to Change Policy on Colombia
June, 2007: U.S. lawmakers should reduce military aid to Colombia and reject the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, according to a letter signed by eleven U.S. trade unions representing nearly twelve million workers, as well as the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. Read the full story.
Banana Unions Launch Initiative Against Chiquita
June, 2007: Growing frustration with Chiquita’s failure to address worker rights concerns at plantations in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica prompted Latin American banana unions to issue a broad-ranging alert to groups in the U.S. and Europe in early June, asking for international support. Read the full story.
Major Trade Deal Pilloried; Key Details Not Yet Known
June, 2007: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe flew to Washington in early June to try again to persuade members of Congress to support a pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as well as another round of foreign aid. Wal-Mart, Caterpillar, and Citigroup are some of his biggest supporters. Read the full story.
Problems Continue for Flower Workers in Colombia
June, 2007: The sole U.S. distributor of flowers from a Colombian plantation where workers have received death threats has refused to respond to repeated requests from USLEAP for assistance. Read the full story.
Bananagate
June, 2007: A former paramilitary leader testified in Colombia that all banana companies have paid paramilitary groups, naming Dole, Del Monte and Chiquita. In March 2007, Chiquita agreed to pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Justice Department for having paid protection money to Colombia’s leading paramilitary group between 1997 and 2004. Read the full story.