ATNC- Asian Transnational Corporation Monitoring Network

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Comment by Joe Balkis on July 7, 2011 at 16:58

At a time of high unemployment and economic downturn across the country, we do not need more trade agreements that will take away jobs and only benefit multinational corporations. However, the three pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama could be submitted to Congress for a vote very soon. These agreements are modeled after NAFTA, and we all know the consequences of NAFTA – job loss and larger trade deficits. In fact, NAFTA-style trade agreements have resulted in nearly two million jobs lost in the U.S. Rather than continuing along the lines of failed trade agreements like NAFTA, we need a new trade policy framework that will create jobs in the U.S.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, if enacted, the South Korea free trade agreement would cost the U.S. 159,000 jobs over seven years. It would also give South Korean investors new rights to challenge U.S. laws, regulations, and even court decisions in international tribunals that circumvent the U.S. judicial system. The agreement also poses national security concerns.

We also should not be considering trade agreements with Panama or Colombia at this time. Panama is a known tax-haven for multinational corporations, and the agreement, like the one with South Korea, would give foreign investors more power to challenge U.S. laws. And why would we enter into a trade deal with Colombia, a country with a disturbing history of violence against union activists? Nearly 2,680 men and women have been murdered in Colombia over the last 25 years for trying to exercise their right to organize in the workplace, and in only 6% of the cases have the murders been prosecuted.

Please email your Representative and Senators in Congress today and ask them to oppose the three pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. We need fair trade, not free trade! To send an email to your members of Congress, click here.


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Comment by Joe Balkis on May 31, 2011 at 3:56

Take Action

Tell Walmart to demand that all charges be dropped against worker rights activists Kalpona, Babul, and Aminul.

Our allies in Bangladesh are under attack.
Last summer, our friends and worker rights activists in Bangladesh were jailed and tortured for calling for an increase in the minimum wage, and they are still facing trumped up charges for speaking out for the lowest paid sweatshop workers in the world. As the largest buyer of Bangladesh's garment exports, Walmart has the responsibility and influence to demand these charges be dropped.
Tell Walmart to stop profiting from the jailing of Bangladeshi worker rights activists and to demand that all charges be dropped against them.
Hundreds of thousands of workers in Bangladesh took to the streets last year demanding an increase in the minimum wage from a mere US$43 a month, just so that they might meet their basic needs and provide for their families. Resistant factory owners producing for U.S. corporations including Walmart fabricated charges against Kalpona Akter, Babul Akhter, and Aminul Islam with the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity. They suffered torture in prison for 30 days before finally being released after an outcry from the international community, but they still face serious charges and could be returned to prison and face the death sentence if the charges aren't dropped.
The factory owners responsible for filing falsified charges are some of Walmart's largest suppliers. Walmart is raking in billions from Bangladeshi sweatshops, where wages are the lowest in the world. Walmart has the power to demand that its suppliers respect basic worker rights and drop charges against Kalpona, Babul, and Aminul, to investigate those responsible for their torture, and to allow worker rights groups like the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity to organize freely without persecution.
Send a letter to Walmart now to demand they take a stand for workers' rights.
This Friday, Walmart shareholders will meet at the University of Arkansas for their extravagant annual meeting to assess the company's health. Join activists around the country and sign up to deliver a letter to your local Walmart store on the same day to show that Walmart's sweatshop abuse and treatment of its workers is far from healthy.
Kalpona came to USAS's Midwest regional conference last year to speak to us. This week, I'll be going to Bangladesh to investigate firsthand the sweatshop conditions that millions of garment workers face in producing for multinational apparel corporations and report back to our network. Together, we can support workers' organizing efforts by making sure they are protected from retaliation as they work to make freedom of association and living wages a reality.
In Solidarity,
Mary Yanik
Chair & USAS Representative
Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) Governing Board

USAS: Organizing for Student and Worker Power

USAS - United Students Against Sweatshops