Since its founding, the ILRF has been at the forefront of
the process of using labor protections embedded in trade laws to fight for
workers around the globe. We’ve used the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) and other mechanisms to provide incentives for nations to enforce core labor
rights and standards.  With two parties
that have but labor rights at the bottom of the trade agenda, it has been an
uphill battle.  It looks like the
Democratic party is finally taking the issue seriously.

The platform includes a promise to reform key global
institutions —including the WTO and the G-8—so they “will be more reflective of
21st century realities” which specifically states the WTO “must improve
transparency and accountability”.

The WTO and other global institutions are rarely targeted
for criticism by the democratic party so this is a major step forward. The
recent breakdown in the WTO’s Doha Trade must have helped to trigger this call
for reform. 

Another platform brings a bit more specificity to the
typical labor standards enforcement language by bringing together the concerns
of workers and farmers.  By joining these groups, there’s an implication
that agricultural commodity trade policies are flawed.

CTC says the platform will, ‘Promise to enforce trade laws
that safeguard workers and farmers “from unfair trade practices–including
currency manipulation, lax consumer standards, illegal subsidies, and
violations of workers’ rights and environmental standards.”’ While still fairly
vague in meaning and not action oriented, it’s a start.

 

Another interesting promise was “to promote economic
development in migrant-sending nations, to reduce the incentives for
immigration.” We can only hope that the “promotion of development” takes into
account the need to create comparatively well-paid, stable, permanent jobs that
allow workers to maintain a decent standard of living. Enforcing labor law in
countries where labor laws are already weak is not going to do anything
significant to reduce incentives for migration.

The Democratic Party needs to make
the bold move to clamp down on labor flexibility and promise to hold US-based
multinational corporations accountable, even when they’re operating abroad.
Democrats also need to ensure that freedom of association is honored in
development strategies so workers can maintain a decent standard of living
through collective bargaining and enforced contracts. Real, comprehensive
immigration reform needs to occur in the US so that immigrant workers’ labor rights are protected at home.  As it is, labor law is often unenforced in
the US in sectors where companies take advantage of immigrants’ undocumented status. In
order to set an example abroad, we need to respect ALL of our workers at home.

To learn more about the DNC’s trade and globalization
platforms visit:

http://www.citizenstrade.org/platform.php