March, 2008 - CUBA

Click here if you are a member and wish to see a short announcement for this program.  Click here for the brochure.  You must pre-register by December 31, 2007.  Regarding travel, contact Bob Guild, Marazul Charters, 4100 Park Avenue, Weehawken, NJ 07086 (201) 319-8970 (fax) or bguild1@gmail.com .  Regarding program, contact Dean Hubbard at dhubbard@slc.edu .

• PAST RESEARCH - Reports from the NLG Labor & Employment Committee research delegations - click on the dates below for a copy of the report:
• 2007 
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2002 Labor & Employment Committee Cuba Exchange Report 
• 2001 Meeting  of Cuban and American Trade Union Lawyers Report
• 2000 - only available in hard copy

• FUTURE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
• Because the NLG L&E Committee's research trip is for and by professionals engaged in a full schedule of academic, noncommercial research which is intended for public dissemination, U.S. labor and employment lawyers and trade union professionals may travel to Cuba to participate the event under a general license (no advance authorization from the Treasury Dept. required).
• Click here  for more information on Professional Research and Meetings.  This document is from the Office of Foreign Assets Control and is dated September 30, 2004.  You can also access this information at www.treas.gov/ofac.

31 CFR § 515.564 Professional research and professional meetings in Cuba.

AFL-CIO Files Complaint Under US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement.  On September 21, 2006 the AFL-CIO and the National Textile Association jointly filed a complaint under the labor chapter of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement, alleging that the Jordanian government is not in compliance with its obligations under the FTA to respect ILO core labor standards and to enforce its own domestic labor laws.

This complaint, submitted to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), focuses on key aspects of the Jordanian labor code, including trade union governance and control, the rights of association and collective bargaining, and worker protections, that fall below core labor standards and/or are not enforced by the Jordanian government.  The complaint also details the systematic abuses to which workers, most of whom are immigrants, are subject to Jordan's export zones. 

This is the first complaint under the labor chapter of the Jordan FTA.  It also marks the first time that a business association has joined with a labor union in insisting on effective enforcement of the labor rights provisions included in a free trade agreement.  The USTR has not yet set up a formal mechanism for accepting labor submissions.  However, the USTR has responded to the filing by stating that it will "keep open all options available under the FTA," and that the information and recommendations contained in the complaint will "prove useful" as it continues to engage the Jordanian government over ways to improve the situation of workers in Jordan.  The complaint, executive summary, and press release are available. 

• The CLC Cross Border Education Committee and the San Diego Maquiladora Workers? Solidarity Network invite you to participate in one of our next two tours. Information and reservations can be found at: http://sdmaquila.org/ or call Herb Shore (619) 251-3011.
• National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAD) - the network of Mexican democratic labor lawyers (the Mexican affiliate of ALAL) - for information emai anadmexico@yahoo.com.mx
• National Union for Social Security Workers (SNTSS) - the Mexican union representing social security workers
• Click here for the website of  SNTSS

• Click here for the United Steelworkers Nov 8, 2006 press release regarding their NAFTA Labor Complaint Against Mexico.  For more information contact Jerry Fernandez (412) 562-2611 or Dan Kovalik (412) 562-2541.
• Click here for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee [FLOC] appeal for support (June 2005) in connection with the renewed efforts by the Mexican government to deport Brendan Greene, FLOC's chief bi-lingual organizer in Monterrey, Mexico. Given the importance of Brendan's work in Mexico and the importance of the issues involved for the international farmworker work force employed in the United States, we urge your immediate action.  For more info contact Bob Willis (919)821-9031.
• Click here for the Public Communication to the U.S. National Administrative Office under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) Concerning the Introduction of Reforms to the Federal Labor Code of Mexico (Abascal Project), Which Would Seriously Diminish Current Labor Standards, including the Right to Freely Associate, to Organize and to Bargain Collectively, in Violation of the Mexican Constitution, ILO Conventions Adopted By Mexico, and the NAALC.  This was submitted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and numerous labor organizations on February 17, 2005.  Click here for a brief explanation of the Abascal proposal and the NAALC submission.  Click here for the press release of February 17, 2005.

• PAST CONFERENCES - Reports from the NLG Labor & Employment Committee delegations & conferences
• July 28 - 30, 2005. Mexico City, Mexico - The International Meeting of Lawyers and Unionists in Defense of Social Security and Public Enterprises