ACLD Minutes, December 19, 2001

Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy Minutes
Meeting: December 19, 2001
Room 1105
Department of State
Washington, DC 

I. Attendance

1. Attendance of Committee Members: The following committee members were present for all or part of the meeting: Thomas R. Donahue, Anthony Freeman, William Lucy, Ray Marshall, and John J. Sweeney.
2. Attendance of State Department Employees: The following Department of State Employees were present for all or part of the meeting: J. Scott Carpenter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; George M. White, Director, International Labor Affairs Office; Alden Irons, Deputy Director, International Labor Affairs Office; Eric Barboriak, Labor Officer, International Labor Affairs Office, Executive Secretary of the Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy; Charlotte Roe, Bureau of Western Hemispheres Affairs; Randy Fleitman, Bureau of Economics and Business Affairs; Kathryn McConnell, Office of International Information Programs; Michael Hancock, USAID.
3. Attendance of Department of Labor Employees: The following Department of Labor Employees were present for all or part of the meeting: Thomas Moorhead, Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs; James Perlmutter, Director of the Office of Foreign Relations; J. William Brumfield, Foreign Service Coordinator, International Labor Affairs Bureau; Vivian Twisdale, Office of Foreign Relations, International Labor Affairs Bureau; Ron Van Helden, Office of Foreign Relations, International Labor Affairs Bureau, Robert Wholey, Office of Foreign Relations, International Labor Affairs Bureau; Sudha Haley, Office of Foreign Relations, International Labor Affairs Bureau, James Shea, Office of International Economic Affairs, International Labor Affairs Bureau.
4. Attendance of Members of the Public: The following members of the public were present for all or part of the meeting: Philip Fishman, Assistant Director, International Affairs Department, AFL-CIO; Harry Kamberis, Executive Director, Solidarity Center; Alice Slayton Clark, Powell Goldstein; Harold Wiener, FSO-retired; Peter Hoier, Royal Danish Embassy; Gunther Horzetsky, Embassy of Germany; Reigne Beiming, Embassy of Sweden; Hubert Martin, Embassy of France.

II.  Public Access: The meeting was open to the public.

III.  Public Participation: No members of the public submitted oral or written statements to the Committee.

IV. Reports Received by the Committee: The Committee received no reports.

V.  Matters Discussed at the Meeting

A.  Morning Session

Chairman Thomas Donahue called the meeting to order at approximately 09:15 a.m and noted that Committee members Frank Doyle, Jack Joyce, and Linda Chavez-Thompson were unable to be present.

Mr. Sweeney commented that he had heard disturbing information to the effect that the Labor Officers in U.S. Embassies in London and Rome were being replaced by officers of a lower rank than that of the incumbents. Mr. Sweeney said that this was a reflection of how at least some officials within the Department of State give low priority to labor diplomacy. He added that the relationship between U.S. and the U.K.’s Trade Union Confederation was important and merited attention from a highly-qualified senior-level Labor Officer.

Mr. Donahue said that Mr. Sweeney’s comment was directly relevant to one of the tasks for the Committee, which is to follow-up on the Department of State’s implementation of the recommendations contained in the Committee’s first report. Mr. Donahue noted that the vast majority of recommendations accepted by the Department have not been implemented. He mentioned that the recommendations relatively easy for the Department to implement, for example, presenting the labor reporting award with other prestigious Department of State awards, were implemented. However, those requiring more resources and coordination within the Department, for example, increasing the number of Labor Officers and rank of certain Labor Officer positions, were not. Mr. Donahue suggested that in addition to forwarding the Committee’s second report to the Secretary of State, the Committee should forward a separate communication to the Secretary addressing the implementation issue.

Echoing Mr. Donahue’s remarks, Mr. Sweeney suggested "less medals and more Labor Officers."

Mr. Donahue said the Committee was enormously indebted to Committee members Anthony Freeman and Ray Marshall; Phil Fishman, Deputy Director of the AFL-CIO’s International Affairs Office; and Harry Kamberis, Executive Director of the Solidarity Center; for their contributions to the draft of the second report. Mr. Donahue also thanked Committee Executive Secretary Eric Barboriak for his efforts.

Mr. Donahue said that he would go through the substance of the report, which was to be submitted by December 31, 2001 to the Special Representative for International Labor Affairs, who would forward it on to the Secretary of State.

Mr. Donahue expressed the Committee’s disappointment with the lack of progress on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Committee’s first report. He requested authority from the Committee to send a separate letter to the Secretary noting the Committee’s concerns on these issues.

Mr. Marshall said that in light of Mr. Sweeney’s opening remarks, such a statement would certainly be appropriate.

Mr. Donahue stated that the draft report first notes that the Committee intended to focus on the interagency process in its second report, but in light of the tragedies of September 11, the Committee shifted its focus and concentrated on how labor diplomacy can contribute to national security. Mr. Donahue pointed out that economic and political security are interrelated, and this has been recognized by the International Labor Organization. It was important to have an effective corps of Labor Officers, and labor diplomacy is a necessary tool of democracy.

Mr. Donahue continued that the war on terrorism is one more example of why labor diplomacy is important. Effective labor diplomacy can provide realistic assessments of the situation on the ground for policymakers.

Mr. Donahue said that the draft report contains a paragraph on democracy issues. It also notes that though the terrorists who participated in the September 11 attack had obvious political and religious motivations, in general, poverty can contribute to the growth of popular discontent and extremism. Therefore, the campaign against terrorism must include more than just a military element.

Mr. Donahue described how the draft report addresses the need to widen the democracy-promotion front. The United States must dramatically expand its democracy-building, particularly in those regimes that are assisting the United States in the war against terrorism. It is quite possible that significant progress on democracy can be made without imposing American values. The report also notes that in places like Belarus and Venezuela, backsliding on democracy is occurring. The report also quotes Amartya Sen on the need to spread democracy.

Mr. Donahue went on to note that trade unions are frontline institutions in the struggle for democracy, bridging ethnic and sectarian gaps in places such as Northern Ireland. The reports notes, however, that there is little right to organize in the Middle East, and particularly in the Gulf States, there is no right to organize whatsoever.

Mr. Donahue said the draft report points out that moderates in the labor movement tend to be sympathetic to the U.S. cause. However, in countries where a trade union monopoly exists, some co-option usually takes place. Solidarity Center has been supporting efforts to make unions more responsive to worker members.

Mr. Donahue said the report will contain a section on the international trade union movement and the International Labor Organization. In that section, Mr. Donahue reported that Frank Doyle had suggested "beefing up" the role of management in the ILO by noting that the employers gave full support, along with trade unions, to the ILO’s Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead noted that, in fact, employers were the spokespersons for the Declaration. He also noted that that many worker organizations other than trade unions do exist.

Mr. Donahue further noted that the Committee rejected the supposition that too much globalization was a causal factor in the attacks. In fact, too little globalization is the problem in Muslim world. As measured by average incomes, globalization has resulted in an expanding global economy and prosperity.

Mr. Marshall cautioned on the validity of using rising average incomes as a measure on increased prosperity by citing the Russian proverb that a cow can drown in water four inches deep.

Mr. Donahue said the draft report stipulates that market forces alone are inadequate to ensuring inclusive prosperity and growth. In this light, unions should be viewed as part of a social safety net for workers. The development of social institutions, such as unions, has not kept pace with the growth of economic and financial institutions.

Mr. Donahue stated that role of labor standards is related to the U.S. Government’s goals of prosperity because these standards aim to support labor structures that promote adding value instead of reducing wages. Indeed, labor standards should be considered in all economic transactions.

The report will cover the institutional environment of labor policy, pointing out how labor policies are created by different U.S. government agencies depending on the issue. The United States Trade Representative has had a significant role in labor policy development, as have the more traditional sources of international labor policy in the U.S. Government, the Departments of State and Labor. The Department of Treasury has its role in labor policy through the instructions it provides to the U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF.

Mr. Donahue stated that the draft report calls for greater interagency cooperation. That interagency cooperation will result in programming that strengthens civil society, which will in turn promote basic civil rights. In this pluralistic approach, there is a specific need for coordination on democracy-building programs. USAID uses an economic criterion to "graduate" countries from USAID programming, and therefore does not take into full account the state of democracy development in those countries. Rule-of-law programs have paid little attention to employment and labor rights issues.

Mr. Donahue stated that the report should include ten or twelve recommendations including:

• The U.S. should increase its level of foreign assistance as a percentage of GNP. The U.S. spends currently the lowest percentage among developed countries.
• The U.S. should ratify more ILO conventions.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead inquired whether the Advisory Committee was suggesting abandoning the Tripartite Advisory Panel on International Labor Standards (TAPILS) process, which is the current mechanism for addressing ratification of ILO conventions. TAPILS operates on the basis that no ILO convention will be forwarded for ratification if ratification would require any change in U.S. federal and state laws. Such a condition has prevented consideration of ratification of, for example, Convention 87 (on Right of Association) and Convention 29 (on the Prohibition of Forced Labor).

Mr. Freeman suggested that the report would suggest using the TAPILS process to get around barriers to further ratifications.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead pointed out that the U.S. Government certainly has no objections to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, though the U.S. is not in a position to ratify the ILO Conventions associated with the Declaration.

Mr. Marshall suggested that the report could include background on the current ratification process. He also added that though a federal system can be a barrier to ratification of ILO conventions, many countries with federal systems have managed to ratify a great number of conventions. The fact that the U.S. has accepted the Declaration’s Principles should indicate a direction towards ratification of the actual conventions.

Mr. Donahue said that the Committee should also recommend the following:

• The ILO should have enforcement mechanisms commensurate with those available to the WTO.
• The Secretary of State should ensure that U.S. Government labor policy should be implemented uniformly and consistently among the U.S. Government agencies involved in labor issues.
• The Under Secretary for Global Affairs should have primary authority over Economic Support Funds (those designated specifically to the State Department) on labor and democracy-building programs.
• The interagency committee (between the Departments of State and Labor) suggested in the Committee’s first report should be constituted and one of its activities should be to create a coherent public diplomacy strategy that can be implemented by the Department of State’s public diplomacy offices.
• There are a number of strategies to strengthen labor diplomacy that should be implemented.
• Labor issues should be promoted in the international financial institutions.
• USAID should implement a separate graduation protocol for democracy issues or a mechanism to better hand off democracy-promotion programs to other qualified organizations.
• The Departments of State and Labor should improve the information base on trade unions worldwide.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead suggested that Labor Officers overseas be specifically tasked to gather information and draft the Foreign Labor Trends series, published by the Department of Labor. He said that this mandatory reporting requirement ended in 1993. Since then, voluntary reporting has been less frequent.

Mr. Irons said that even prior to 1993, reports were required for only 80 countries. In the Middle East, the only required countries were Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco; and none of the Gulf States.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead stated that strengthening the Labor Officer corps, including increasing the number of Labor Officers in key posts, would allow Labor Officers to increase their reporting. He suggested, for example, a regional Labor Officer in Central Asia. Though countries in the region belong to the ILO, there is little information about their labor activities.

Mr. Donahue said that the Committee should incorporate Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead’s suggestions into the report, perhaps highlighting the need for reporting in certain regions.

Ms. Roe noted that since the 1998 ILO Declaration (on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work), the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights have been more comprehensively addressing labor issues.

Mr. White commented on the Foreign Labor Trends series, pointing out the benefit the publication provides to a host of constituencies, including U.S. policymakers, investors, and the general public.

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Mr. Lucy stated the Committee’s report should reflect the important role of the public sector. The international financial institutions should be encouraged to strengthen the role of the public institutions and public sector functions. He observed that our policies towards the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are often counter to our labor policies.

Mr. Marshall agreed, pointing out the Amartya Sen also recognizes the importance of effective governments.

Mr. Perlmutter emphasized the need for coordination and the need to build synergies. The recommendation on the interagency committee (between the Departments of State and Labor) should be stressed. The Departments of State and Labor, USAID, and USTR must also be part of an interagency structure to examine labor issues.

Mr. Donahue said the interagency committee suggested in the first report should have a broader mandate, including interagency cooperation.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead suggested that the Committee reiterate its earlier suggestions on the interagency committee. He perceived there would be increased receptivity to this idea at this time.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Carpenter concurred that the recommendation on the interagency committee should be part of the Committee’s report. He said that the coordination would start with the Departments of State and Labor and could be expanded, following Mr. Perlmutter’s suggestion.

Mr. Freeman stated that this discussion of the recommendation on the interagency committee raised the issue of the definition of "labor diplomacy." If the interagency committee is to address issues beyond the activity of the Labor Officer corps, than the report should also define "labor diplomacy" in broader terms, to include, for example, technical assistance programs. In addition, the National Security Council should be part of any interagency coordination framework.

Mr. Donahue stated that the Committee should reiterate its previous recommendation on the interagency committee and also point out its now broader purpose. This is appropriate given the change in Administrations.

Mr. Marshall offered a rationale for coordination:

• Coordinate issues that are important and have a high priority;
• Improve the effectiveness of overall functions through synergies and greater resources;
• Need to make the process important.

Mr. Donahue asked whether the Committee should explicitly state that primary authority on democracy-building activities should be assigned to the Under Secretary for Global Affairs. Another issue to address is relationship between the Under Secretary and the position of Special Representative for International Labor Affairs (SRILA) in addressing labor diplomacy issues.

Mr. Freeman said the Committee should state that the Under Secretary for Global Affairs should have primary authority over labor-related Economic Support Funds. He noted that the Committee should support the SRILA position and that this position should have the highest rank possible.

Mr. Donahue recalled that the recommendation on SRILA in the first report is that the position become permanent at the rank of Deputy Assistant Secretary or Ambassador at Large. He also said that the issue of democracy policy responsibility and the Under Secretary were beyond the reach of the Committee.

Mr. Sweeney agreed, emphasizing the importance of a position like SRILA for labor issues.

Mr. Donahue asked for comments on the issue of democracy and the Muslim world.

Mr. Marshall stated the comments of Amartya Sen on democracy applied in the Muslim world. It is important that the market system be tied to a democratic governance model.

Mr. Donahue suggested redrafting the recommendation on the ILO, drawing out more detail on the U.S. Government’s ratification process. He also suggested highlighting the ILO’s cumbersome enforcement mechanism, particularly in comparison to the enforcement mechanisms of the WTO.

Mr. Fleitman commented that at the recent WTO Ministerial in Doha, the developing countries expressed fierce opposition to the inclusion of any labor provisions in the final agreement. He suggested, therefore, that the Committee avoid making direct reference to the WTO in the context of suggesting increased enforcement capabilities for the ILO.

Mr. Marshall observed that this comment reinforces the need for U.S. Government to confront directly the issues of labor and economic development. He called into question how representative the negotiators from developing countries were of the people’s best interest.

Mr. Donahue stated that for the recommendations concerning the Under Secretary for Global Affairs, the Committee will note her responsibilities for democracy and labor-related policy and programming. The Committee will also recommend that the Department retain posts and positions for Labor Officers that would form a path of increasing experience and promotion for interested Foreign Service Officers. The Committee will further recommend reinstatement of the Foreign Labor Trends series as a mandatory reporting requirement and an increase in the number of Labor Officers.

Deputy Under Secretary Moorhead expressed a hope that the number of Labor Officers will increase. He also suggested that the interagency committee choose countries of priority for Foreign Labor Trends reporting. He added that reporting could be done on every country and region. In the Middle East, there is union activity about which posts should report. Given the proclivities of Congress to be prescriptive on these kinds of issues, it would behoove the Administration to get ahead of the curve and make gathering this kind of information more regularized.

Mr. Marshall added that a case for the Foreign Labor Trends series could be made stronger by pointing out the dearth of information available on a number of countries critical to U.S. foreign policy interests. Jack Joyce’s example of the unreported labor confederation activity in the Mid-East is one example.

Mr. Shea stated that the Departments of Treasury and Commerce and USTR would welcome increased policy coherence on labor issues.

In response to an earlier point from Mr. Lucy, Mr. White stated that one of the indicators on the quality of public service is the degree to which public transportation is open to unionization. More unionization is usually associated with more quality service.

Mr. Donahue called for a motion to accept the drafting subcommittee’s report as the official draft of the Committee’s second report and to authorize the Chairman to send the Secretary a letter on the state of implementation of the recommendations contained in the Committee’s first report.

Mr. Lucy offered such a motion.

Mr. Marshall seconded.

Mr. Donahue called for a vote, and it was the unanimous decision of the Committee to accept the drafting subcommittee’s draft as the official draft of the Committee’s second report and authorize the Chairman to communicate to the Secretary on the issue of the state of implementation of the recommendations contained in the Committee’s first report.

Mr. Donahue stipulated that final suggestions and edits for the report should be submitted within two days.

Mr. Donahue wrapped up the discussion by praising the efforts of the Committee, observing that the Committee had had a positive and significant effect on U.S. labor diplomacy.

Mr. Marshall praised Mr. Donahue for his sterling efforts as Chairman, stating that much of the success of the Committee is owed to Mr. Donahue’s leadership.

There being no other business, Mr. Donahue adjourned the meeting at approximately 11:30 a.m.