January, 1999
Labor Party Press
Fair
Trade
(story continued from page five)
On Sunday, delegates approved a fourth and final new
national campaign, for Fair Trade. The
resolution calls for rejection of NAFTA, WTO, MAI "and all such ‘free’
trade agreements," and demands that all governments and corporations comply with
International Labor Organization standards, including those banning child labor and
protecting workers’ right to have independent trade unions.
|
 |
|
Photo ©Michael Kaufman, Impact Visuals |
In the resolution, the Labor Party outlines an innovative approach to
enforcing fair trade. For instance the resolution insists that corporations that are
bringing their products across the U.S. border must at that point be held liable for how
those goods were produced. If conditions of production did not meet ILO, health and safety
or environmental standards, then the goods should be confiscated, and the company fined.
It also calls for new rules that allow working people themselves to investigate, present
evidence, and petition to remove goods that are in violation of standards. The resolution
recommits the Labor Party to promoting international solidarity and communication with the
labor movement and labor parties around the globe.
Under the resolution, the Labor Party will develop the details of our Fair
Trade policy and wage a "vigorous campaign of public hearings, education among our
constituent bodies," and a training program for our own activists so that they can
extend the education campaign to the community at large.
Delegates passed the resolution without amendment.
|
