As classes commenced at Cornell University, 1,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) union members went on strike, accusing the university of failing to negotiate in good faith and demanding fair treatment. Union members claim that Cornell University not only refused to present a fair contract but also retaliated against union activity, deepening feelings of exploitation. This strike highlights a broader issue in the United States: the right to unionize and collectively bargain, as protected by the National Labor Relations Act. While most private sector workers (excluding domestic and agricultural workers) can unionize and collectively bargain, Cornell’s resistance raises concerns about how institutions may nevertheless undermine such rights. Cornell has thoroughly practiced the rights protected by this law as the university has secured and ratified a contract containing many of the workers’ demands including a cost of living adjustment to their wages. Although it seems as if this issue has been solved in the short term, more extensive labor rights are required to retain necessary protections for workers in the U.S. 

But, these basic rights present in the U.S. are not present in many countries in the world. 

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has adopted 190 conventions, ranging in topics from workers’ rights to forced labor and occupational safety. The country with the most ratified ILO conventions is Uruguay with 108, but the U.S. has only ratified 14. Although many countries have shown improvements in labor rights, over half of the global workforce, particularly in the Global South, remains part of the informal economy, which often lacks the basic labor protections that workers need. The International Trade Union Commission reports that 74% of countries exclude workers from the right to form or join a union, and 79% of countries violate the right to collective bargaining. Even with international conventions in place, this shows that labor rights are still not being enforced properly. 

If this is the case, how do we enforce labor rights in a globalizing world?

The solution is through trade agreements. U.S. agencies such as the Department of Labor, the International Labor Affairs Office at the Department of State, and various representatives to the United Nations and ILO advocate for connecting labor rights enforcement to global market access. In other words, by conditioning market access on the adherence to labor standards set by organizations like the ILO,  corporations and governments have a greater incentive to enforce labor rights. The logic behind this is simple: violations of labor rights usually stem from efforts to minimize costs and maximize profit. The lack of labor rights often boils down to the desire to cut costs and increase profit. By connecting an entity’s ability to make money to the requirement that labor rights are enforced, labor rights should be upheld. 

The two main examples currently in effect are the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), ratified in 2020, and the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), ratified in 2021.

Chapter 23 of the USMCA mandates Mexico to adopt and uphold labor laws that comply with international labor standards, particularly regarding collective bargaining and the freedom of association. The Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) clause allows the U.S. or Canada to investigate and sanction individual factories in Mexico for labor violations. If violations are found, penalties include suspension of preferential tariffs and possible trade sanctions. This clause proved effective in 2021, when the U.S. filed a complaint against a General Motors plant in Mexico for denying union representation rights. Mexico was immediately compelled to investigate and address the violations, forcing facilities to provide nearly six million in back pay and benefits, reinstate wrongly terminated workers, and help secure free and fair elections to select independent unions. The leverage of market access and the threat of sanctions led Mexico to enforce and regulate labor rights in its factories. 

Developing countries under the GSP+ program gain tariff-free access to the EU market in exchange for implementing 27 international conventions, including the eight ILO core labor standards. Specifically, GSP+ requires ratification and enforcement of conventions regarding freedom of association, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labor and child labor. Non-compliance can lead to suspension of trade preferences, and the EU regularly monitors compliance through reports published every two years, providing information on the advancements of GSP+ beneficiary countries in implementing the conventions. In 2019, Cambodia faced a partial suspension of its GPS+ benefits when they violated labor and human rights by attacking union activities and enabling forced labor. Without this agreement, more workers, such as those in Cambodia, would be subject to intense forced labor conditions with no right to organize and stop the human rights violations. 

Trade agreements are a tool to enforce and expand labor rights. Although challenges and limitations exist due to the lack of resources and corporate resistance, countries with more developed labor rights need to restrict their market access to countries with less developed labor rights to ensure that each human being is treated humanely in the workplace.