By Peter Cohn. Thu. Apr. 24, 2008. Congress Daily AM.

The AFL-CIO Wednesday filed the first legal complaint with the Labor Department over the treatment of workers in Guatemala, alleging violations of the labor chapter of the Central America Free Trade Agreement, which Congress passed in 2005.

Along with six Guatemalan unions, the group said their complaint lays out five separate cases where the Guatemalan government has failed to protect worker rights or stop violence against union officials.

Since the agreement took effect in July 2006, “the level of violence against trade unionists increased markedly,” workers are prevented from joining unions or bargaining collectively, and no serious investigations have taken place in the case of two murders, the complaint says.

The AFL-CIO announced its move as Congress and the Bush administration are embroiled in a fight over the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which the labor group opposes because of continued violence in that country against union officials. “Guatemalan workers are being targeted for their union activity,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “Without the freedom from fear to join unions and bargain collectively, how can we expect any workers to benefit from a trade agreement?”

The complaint urges the Bush administration to formally initiate dispute-settlement proceedings, and require the Guatemalan government to live up to promises made during the CAFTA debate to improve its justice system and prosecute those guilty of crimes against workers.

Susan Aaronson, an associate professor of international affairs at George Washington University, said the Labor Department should comply and initiate formal proceedings. “In so doing, it will send important signals to congressional Democrats and others, who are deeply concerned about the Bush administration’s commitment to labor rights vis-a-vis the Colombia Free Trade Agreement,” Aaronson said.

A top Labor Department official said in a statement that the agency would look into the complaint. “The Department of Labor will thoroughly review and investigate these allegations within the parameters set by the CAFTA agreement. Free trade agreements like CAFTA provide a mechanism so that the United States government can address allegations of this nature,” said Charlotte Ponticelli, deputy undersecretary of Labor for international affairs.

Worker protections were a subject of debate during the CAFTA fight as they are now with Colombia.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, for example, voted for CAFTA only after securing a commitment from the White House to support $40 million a year from FY06-09 on enforcing labor standards in the six countries covered by the agreement. Bingaman grilled Trade Representative Schwab on the subject during a hearing last month. “It is a firm commitment,” she said.

Meanwhile, backers of the Colombia deal continue to press their case. The Colombian embassy, arguing it has continued to make progress in stopping violence, noted that Colombia’s chief prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against former Colombian Senator Mario Uribe, a second cousin of President Alvaro Uribe, for alleged paramilitary ties. “This process is being carried out with total independence,” the embassy said in a statement.

On Capitol Hill Wednesday, Colombia’s U.S. ambassador, Carolina Barco, led a delegation of Colombian flower exporters and workers to brief members and staff about the economic benefits of the deal. They said almost 200,000 jobs have been created in the United States as a result of the distribution and sale of Colombian flowers.

The two flower workers accompanying the group delivered their signature product to the offices of the 10 House Democrats who defied House Speaker Pelosi this month and voted against her move to indefinitely delay a vote on the trade pact.

Those Democrats included Reps. Melissa Bean of Illinois; Dan Boren of Oklahoma; Allen Boyd of Florida; Jim Cooper of Tennessee; Bud Cramer of Alabama; Henry Cuellar of Texas; Baron Hill of Indiana; Nick Lampson of Texas; Tim Mahoney of Florida, and Jim Matheson of Utah.