Bal Harbour, Fla.
Over the last twenty years, the process of globalization has accelerated as trade, communications, transportation and investment have increased. As this process has accelerated, the benefits have been inequitably distributed, and the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” has increased in far too many nations. At the same time, too many multinational corporations have been engaged in a “race to the bottom,” seeking to locate their operations in nations with the lowest wages and most vulnerable workers. In an effort to attract investment, many nations have bid against each other to lower wages and working conditions, resulting in stagnating or declining standards of living for far too many people.
The United States’ approach to trade policy has been to accelerate the liberalization of market barriers without, at the same time, promoting appropriate standards and rules to protect workers and communities. Millions of good paying manufacturing jobs have been lost, and industry sector after industry sector has been devastated. Now the process of “offshoring” – the movement of service and technical jobs – is accelerating as well.
The AFL-CIO has been an ardent advocate for the inclusion of internationally recognized workers’ rights provisions in trade agreements. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration clings to the outdated trade model that has resulted in hemorrhaging jobs, skyrocketing trade deficits and reduced opportunities for our workers.
In addition to the fight for internationally recognized workers’ rights provisions in trade agreements, we must also create a foundation on which nations can compete fairly and where standards of living can increase for the benefit of all. Growing the middle class in all nations must be the goal.
Fair trade requires that workers can receive fair compensation for their work. Protection of core workers’ rights must be coupled with minimum wage laws that are negotiated through trade agreements. The rights and wages of workers must not be auctioned off.
The dialogue over raising living standards for average workers in the global economy must begin immediately – with our own government, with our international trade union allies, and other partners. Ongoing and future trade negotiations must address improving workers’ rights and minimum wage provisions. In multilateral and regional trade negotiations, the United States should lead the effort for the development and adoption of an International Minimum Wage (IMW). The IMW will help to ensure that trade is truly a force for progress, rather than a competitive attack on wages and living standards.
International negotiations should develop a fair and transparent process for determining the appropriate minimum wage for each country. The international minimum wage would be different for each country, based on its development level and standard of living. The International Labor Organization (ILO), trade unions, and global union federations should be integrally involved in this process. The goal is to ensure that rising wages and living standards promote the growth of the middle class.
The international financial institutions (the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other organizations) must be integrated into the process of developing the necessary infrastructure to support the IMW. The United States, as one of the largest contributors to the IFIs, should use its voice and vote to promote the development of, and consensus on, the IMW: The United States has substantial leverage in this regard.
Any further trade liberalization should advance the IMW. The promise of trade must be to raise standards of living – that means not only the quality of life, but helping to create consumers who will purchase the products of all nations. Right now, the United States is left holding the short straw – our trade expansion efforts have disproportionately aided our competitors at the cost of jobs and our standard of living.
As the part of this effort, the United States must increase its own minimum wage, which has failed to keep pace with inflation and which does not allow full-time workers to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. No worker who is employed full time should have to face the tough decisions that far too many Americans face. It’s time to ensure that the minimum wage provides a sustainable standard of living upon which Americans and workers all over the world can build for the future.