Two days after Coca Cola bottling worker and union officer Isidro Segundo Gil was murdered at his workplace, paramilitaries entered the plant and told employees they had three choices: resign from the union, leave Carepa, or be killed. According to eyewitnesses, the workers were then led into the manager's office to sign union resignation forms prepared by the company. Photo from In These Times.
The AFL-CIO will launch a campaign this week to try and stop the pending trade deal between the United States and Colombia.
The nation’s largest labor federation has planned several events in hopes of convincing Congress to reject the agreement. Trade unionists from Colombia will travel to Washington to discuss the country’s poor record of violence against labor organizers with members of Congress.
The AFL-CIO campaign comes as the Obama administration continues to push for passage of the trade deal. On Monday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that Colombia had met another set of milestones outlined under the labor action plan the country agreed to with the administration.