By Doug Cunningham

As labor struggles to reform trade agreements in the new Congress, the AFL-CIO says the Colombia free trade agreement should be dead until – and if – the country meets an established set of human rights benchmarks. Colombia is the most violent, dangerous country for union organizers and activists. More than two thousand two hundred have been killed there since 1991. The AFL-CIO says Bush should have publicly raised that issue on his recent visit to Colombia. The AFL-CIO says this is beyond re-negotiation. No deal should be struck with Colombia, the labor federation says, until it adequately addresses violence toward trade unionists there. Bush is trying to get an extension on his fast track trade agreement authority and is in talks with Democratic congressional leaders on trade agreement issues.