US labor updating petition on China workers' rights Bush rejected AFL-CIO petitions in 2004 and 2006

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1421223420100614

US labor updating petition on China workers' rights

* Bush rejected AFL-CIO petitions in 2004 and 2006

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - Amid reports of increased unrest among workers in China, the largest U.S. labor group is considering asking President Barack Obama's administration to investigate whether China gains an unfair trade advantage by denying workers' rights, a top union official said on Monday.

Such a request would further strain U.S.-China trade relations, already weighed down by accusations that China undervalues its currency and does far too little to protect U.S. goods from counterfeiting and piracy.

"We're in process of updating (petitions the group filed in 2004 and 2006 asking for a workers' rights probe) so we can be ready to file if we decide to," Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff at the AFL-CIO, told Reuters.

Unrest in China at Honda Motor (7267.T) and iPhone maker Foxconn International (2038.HK) confirm "the arguments we've made for several years, which is that Chinese workers have been repressed and their wages are not in any way reflecting their productivity," Lee said.

The AFL-CIO, using a U.S. trade law mechanism known as "Section 301" petition, twice tried unsuccessfully to persuade former President George W. Bush administration's to probe working conditions in China.

If the 11.5-million-member labor group decides to file a new petition, the U.S. Trade Representative's office would have 45 days to decide whether to accept it or not.

If it agrees to launch an investigation, U.S. trade officials would have at least one year to complete the probe and then decide what steps to take.

FULL story at link.