Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Second Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Keywords

Globalization, Labor Rights, Free Trade

Area of Concentration

Sociology, Latin American Studies

Abstract

The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) was signed into law by the United States Congress on October 12, 2011. In the years leading up to its ratification, the trade agreement faced great opposition from human rights activists due to the nation's longstanding history of labor rights violations. In response. the Colombian government presented a Labor Action Plan to address some of the key concerns presented by the trade agreement's dissenters. My research examines the repercussions of this free trade agreement on labor relations in Colombia. I examine this through interviews with ten Colombian union leaders working in different sectors of the economy. Participants' responses indicate both neglect and aggression from the Colombian state, paramilitary organizations, and multinational corporations towards the nation's workers. Existing quantitative data supplements these findings, and suggests continued difficulty for workers as well as problems with employment measures. My methods permit a closer analysis of the role of the local political interests in sustaining this kind of economic policy. This work contributes to an understanding of the interaction of the unequal economies of the United States and Colombia, highlighting an uneven exchange of products and a continuation of anti-union violence.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

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