American Center for International Labor Solidarity

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The American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS), better known as the Solidarity Center, is a non-profit organization established in 1997 by the AFL-CIO, the labor federation that represents 9 million working men and women in the United States, to assist unions and workers around the world. The Solidarity Center was created through the consolidation of four labor institutes: the American Institute for Free Labor Development, the Asian-American Free Labor Institute, the African-American Labor Center, and the Free Trade Union Institute. Its stated mission is to help build a global labor movement by strengthening the economic and political power of workers around the world through effective, independent, and democratic unions.

The American labor movement has supported workers abroad since its birth more than a century ago. Along with other civil society organizations, it has received U.S. government funding to promote the cause of workers and the development of democratic trade unions in countries all over the world. Most of the Solidarity Center’s funding comes from the U.S. government, mainly from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Labor. It also receives funding from the AFL-CIO itself and other organizations.

The Solidarity Center has been accused by some of taking part in destabilization campaigns against national leaders and for having what is claimed to be a bias towards public sector unions that support leftist politicians.^{[citation needed]} Critics of the Solidarity Center argue that Solidarity's policies fit within the strategic interests of the United States, and deride the fact that over 90% of their funding comes from the US State Department.^{[citation needed]} What is unclear is the amount of joint communication and joint operations between the State Department and the Solidarity Center.

1 Venezuela
2 Haiti
3 Iraq
4 Other Program Areas
5 References
6 Links

[edit] Venezuela

The Solidarity Center’s partners in Venezuela include the Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV), which represents more than 1 million workers in 52 national and 25 regional federations and more than 2,000 local unions. The CTV is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Two additional union federations, the Bolivarian Workers Front (FBT) and the Unión Nacional de Trabajadores de Venezuela (UNT), have also recently been formed. The UNT is the government-designated representative before the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other international bodies. Although the government has refused to recognize the CTV as a worker representative, the federation continues to defend its members and bargain on their behalf. Critics of the Solidarity Center accuse the CTV of “anti-government” activities.^{[citation needed]} The CTV in fact led a damaging strike aimed at overthrowing the Chavez government, after receiving money and training from the Solidarity Center.^{[citation needed]}

In Venezuela, the Solidarity Center worked with and funded what it called the "flagship organizations" behind company-initiated lockouts of oil workers and the failed coup against the democratically elected government of Hugo Chávez.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002 and 2003, the center ran NED-funded labor programs on collective bargaining, union elections, and worker rights with the CTV and a few smaller labor organizations. The annual budget of more than $100,000 included support to train union leaders for new leadership posts, modify union statutes to allow for broader representation, and carry out union elections. The program also focused on developing technical collective bargaining skills, broadening issues included in bargaining, surveying members more extensively, and designing bargaining plans to ensure sustainable agreements for workers. Some, including Chavez, have accused the NED of providing funding to “anti-government” civil society organizations in Venezuela.^[1]

Venezuelan-American lawyer Eva Golinger documented more than $776,000 in different grants that the Solidarity Center received from the NED specifically to support the CTV between February 2001 and March 2002.^{[citation needed]} The ACILS got another CTV support grant for $116,000 in September 2002, five months after the coup and three months before the oil stoppage.^{[citation needed]} In his history as AIFLD labor activist Harry Kelber says the grants continued in the same amount every three months until at least March 2004.^[2] According to Golinger, the ACILS continues to receive grants in excess of $100,000 annually for its work with the CTV.^[3]

[edit] Haiti

In 2003, as tension mounted in Haiti, the Solidarity Center began criticizing the Haitian government for worker rights violations, a weak Labor Code, and the negative impact on worker rights and living conditions of donor policies toward Haiti.^{[citation needed]} Following the 2004 overthrow of Haiti's democratically elected government the Solidarity Center began two State Department funded programs with the Batay Ouvriye, in which $449,965.00 was spent.Template:Labor Notes. May 2006

The Batay Ouvriye which had agitated for the elected Aristide government to "leave the country" received some attention for its successful negotiation of a contract in Haiti's FTZ (Free Trade Zone). When textile manufacturer Grupo M, the Dominican Republic’s largest employer, applied to the International Finance Corporation (the World Bank’s private sector lending arm) for a $20 million loan to open a factory on the Haiti-Dominican border, the Batay Ouvriye, the Solidarity Center, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the AFL-CIO, and the Dominican Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers (FEDOTRAZONAS) worked together to condition the loan on respect for worker rights, including the right to form a union.

Following the successful negotiation of a contract in the FTZ, the World Bank adopted a new performance standard that obliges all companies receiving loans from the IFC to abide by the International Labor Organization’s core labor standards: freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, and prohibitions against the use of forced labor, child labor, and discriminatory practices. Companies also must observe health and safety standards, provide protection for contract workers, and set a policy for managing workforce reductions.

Throughout the late 1990's and the early 2000's the ICFTU, ILO, and ORIT supported the CSH (another Haitian labor organization) which was the main labor component of the opposition to the Aristide Government (the Group 184). While the Group 184 criticized the Haitian government from the right, the Batay Ouvriye criticized the Arsitide government from the left. Some of the largest Unions in Haiti that supported Lavalas and Arsitide government policies received no attention or aid at all.^{[citation needed]} AFL-CIO officials have also indicated that they helped in supporting the foundation of this opposition aligned labor coordination union.^[4]

While the Aristide government was under attack by foreign funded paramilitaries based out of the Dominican Republic and an elite civil society provided tens of millions of dollars from foreign aid agencies, it was also subjected to a Bush administration backed government aid embargo, which stripped the government of 30-35% of its yearly budget. Even under these conditions, according to researcher Jeb Sprague, the Aristide government attempted to aid labor with what little it could: "While labor conditions remained extremely poor and corruption persisted, as foreign destabilization plunged Haiti’s economy, the Aristide government took some steps towards aiding labor. The minimum wage was increased from 36 gourdes to 70 gourdes a day in early 2003, the right to organize in the free trade zone was successfully negotiated, a provision of the labor code that sanctioned child domestic service was repealed, and legislation prohibiting human trafficking was passed. A 20-person police unit was set up to monitor cases of suspected human trafficking along the border, while steps were taken to promote access to education, offering a 70% subsidy to cover education supplies and calling on families who employ children to release them during school hours. The second Aristide administration (2000-2004) also refused to privatize public sector industries, requested by the IMF. Following the coup d’etat many of the labor reforms were suspended, with numerous employers reverting to the old minimum wage."^[4]

Following the 2004 coup between 10,000 and 15,000 public sector workers (often workers who were members of Lavalas) were fired, with many coming under persecution and fleeing into exile. While the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center began a large program with the Batay Ouvriye, it failed to engage in any single investigation of the 26 months of public sector labor persecution. The Solidarity Center did not issue a single condemnation. Meanwhile IMF and the Interim government, supported by France, Canada, and the US, began plans for privatization of Haitian public assets.

One high-ranking Solidarity Center official explained, during the summer of 2005, that these workers affiliated with the ousted government were "revolutionary ideologues". Harry G Kamberis, Senior advisor of the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center explained that the Solidarity Center provides information to the U.S. State Department and the NED. He also noted that supporting the Batay Ouvriye fits within "U.S. Strategic interests".^[4]

In Haiti, the Solidarity Center has only supported a labor organization that while working in the Free Trade Zone, also agitated for the ousting of the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Interestingly, the Solidarity Center's precursor AIFLD had a long and murky history in Haiti, supporting unions that aggitated for the first coup against Aristide first administration (1991) and other unions heavily infilitrated by secret police and sanctioned by the Duvalier dictatorship.^{[citation needed]} Arsitide was the first democratically elected president in Haitian history.

The Solidarity Center simultaneously has failed to act against or condemn the massive persecution/attacks upon pro-Lavalas, pro-Aristide, and public sector trade unionists since the 2004 coup.^{[citation needed]} Their association with the International Republican Institute, which is in turn associated with the US Republican Party, has also drawn criticism.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Iraq

In Iraq the Solidarity Center does not play any role in backing the Coalition occupation. It recognizes and works with all unions in the country. A number of its partner organizations have seen their leaders assassinated by different forces intent on preventing unions from exercising their basic labor rights. The Solidarity Centers' activities in Iraq are coordinated out of Amman, Jordan.