Trade union cooperation in the NAFTA area

When the plans for a free trade agreement were first discussed, the North American trade unions were unanimous in their opposition to the idea. However, because of the fragmented nature of their action, they were unable to bring any influence to bear on either government action or public opinion. Yet now that trade in North America is becoming liberalised, it is evident that the outcome for trade unions is not as negative as might have been thought: the trade unions are playing an increasingly important role in the development of discussions on free trade, while their organisations have succeeded in reaching closer agreement with each other on these questions and bridges have been built between the unions and numerous forms of pressure group. The discussions on free trade have shaken up and transformed north-south trade union relations. The one-way cooperation between those who give and those who receive is a thing of the past. The trade union movements of north and south have discovered that their interests may lie together, that their needs can be reciprocal and that it is possible, therefore, for them to develop more egalitarian forms of relationship. This article presents, first of all, a review of trade unionism in North America, followed by a summary of the free trade agreements and a description of their application and of anticipated developments. It will then look at how trade union positions have evolved, moving on to an analysis of the power relationship in which the North American trade union movement, and that of the Americas as a whole, has a part to play.