Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act

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The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act was introduced into the United States Senate on June 8, 2006 as Senate Bill 3485 by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) [1] and was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 16, 2006 as HR 5635 by Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)[2].

The bill was written as a collaboration of different groups, including the United Steelworkers of America, the National Labor Committee and Senator Dorgan, partially in response to a Harris Poll showing that 75% of Americans agreed with the following statement: "I want my Member of Congress to support legislation to protect human rights in the global economy by prohibiting the import or sale of sweatshop goods in the U.S. which were made under conditions violating internationally recognized worker rights standards."[3]

As of September, the bill had garnered four Senate co-sponsors and 33 co-sponsors in the House.[4]. It has also recently been endorsed by the AFL-CIO[5]

The bill aims to ban the sale of any goods deemed to be made in contravention of either core ILO standards, including the right to organize and freedom of association, or of local labor laws. The bill's backers have stated that the law was written specifically to ensure its compliance with World Trade Organization rules on non-discrimination, as the bill would also ban the sale of any goods made in America under substandard conditions. Furthermore, endorsers claim that the bill will treat all goods equally and hold all countries, including the United States, accountable for the conditions under which goods are made.[6]

The contents of the bill can be found at the Library of Congress, or on their website. [7]

[edit] Sources

1. Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH) website endorsing the legislation can be found here: http://www.sherrodbrown.com/tag/content/C66/

2. Senator Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) endorsement can be found here: http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=256778

3. The AFL-CIO's endorsement can be found here: http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/ecouncil/ec08082006b.cfm

4. The United Steelworkers of America's endorsement can be found here: http://www.usw.org/usw/program/content/3103.php

5. The text of the bill can be found at the Library of Congress, here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.3485.IS: