The Obama administration today announced that it will take action against unfair trade practices by China in auto part exports to the United States and tariff barriers against the import of American-made cars to China. Meanwhile, over the weekend, the Boston Globe detailed Mitt Romney’s business and personal investments in Chinese manufacturing companies. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the administration’s action is:

Good news, not just for workers who rely on the auto industry, but for the entire American economy.

The Tunisian General Union of Labor (UGTT) and the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU)—two unions whose struggles are emblematic of labor’s role in the Arab uprisings—received the 2012 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award in a ceremony last night at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.  

UGTT General Secretary Hassine Abassi and GFBTU General Secretary S. Salman Jaddar Al Mahfoodh received the awards for their respective labor movements.

Workers' issues, such as high unemployment and lack of opportunity, declining living standards and the arrogant abuse of political and economic power by the corrupt few, spurred the Arab uprisings; and unions and workers’ rights activists were engaged in some of the most important union organizing in the region’s history.

After a monthlong journey through 26 American cities, the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity finally arrived in Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon. Caravaneros, as members of the Caravan are known, descended their bus, parked in front of AFL-CIO headquarters, holding up signs with pictures of their disappeared loved ones, chanting:

“¡Vivos se los llevaron!, ¡vivos los queremos!” (They took them alive! We want them alive!)

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) has issued a report on the 2010 SINAUT-SUNAT submission under the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that represents the resolution of the first case under the so-called “May 10” agreement—an agreement that raised the bar for labor obligations in U.S. FTAs. The U.S.-Peru FTA was the first to require parties to “adopt and maintain in its statutes and regulations, and practices thereunder,” the rights stated in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up, including the right of collective bargaining.

The AFL-CIO welcomes the Burmese government’s decision to remove some 2,000 people from a blacklist of more than 6,000 banned from entering the country.  Among those affected by this decision is Maung Maung, the general secretary of the ITUC-affiliated Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB). After decades in exile, Maung Maung’s return represents an important step in Burma’s history and provides hope to millions of unorganized workers.

This morning, the Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of General Motors Colombia (ASOTRECOL) announced that they had reached an agreement with General Motors (GM) and its Colombian subsidiary GM Colmotores to enter into mediation to resolve a labor dispute that has been going on for more than a year.  Twelve ASOTRECOL members have just announced an end to their hunger strike, organized to shame GM Colmotores into coming to the table to discuss a variety of issues including wrongful termination and compensation for occupational injuries.

Juan de Dios Sáenz Rosales, president of the Union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was killed on Aug. 22. Late last night, Honduran authorities announced that his son had been arrested for the murder.* The AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with SITRAUNAH as they mourn this loss and urges the government of Honduras to continue to investigate and prosecute this case vigorously until ensure justice has been is achieved for Juan de Dios Sáenz and his loved ones

An on-going industrial conflict escalated into tragedy yesterday as police opened fire on a group of protesting workers at the Marikana Mine and surrounding area in Rustenburg, South Africa, about 50 miles from Johannesburg. The platinum mine is owned by U.K.-based Lonmin. The violence has taken 38 lives and injured more than 75 people.

There are doubts about the institutions responsible for the rule of law in Honduras and the government’s protection of human rights, acknowledged the U.S. State Department in an Aug. 8 report. Unfortunately, the State Department says virtually nothing about the widespread impunity regarding violations of freedom of association or the threats and violence aimed at labor activists.

The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions have called for immediate action in Colombia around the mistreatment of the members of ASOTRECOL, an association of ex-workers and injured workers at Colmotores, a General Motors (GM) subsidiary in Colombia.