Dear colleagues and friends: We thought you may be interested in these
recent reports on NAFTA and other trade treaties currently before Congress
or under negotiation.

Garrett Brown
Coordinator, MHSSN



TWO MAJOR REPORTS ON NAFTA, CAFTA AND TRADE AGREEMENT
IMPACTS ON WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY RELEASED

THIRD REPORT ISSUED ON DECEMBER 2004 TRAINING IN GUATEMALA FOR
UNIONS, MONITORS CONFRONTING GARMENT SWEATSHOPS IN CENTRAL AMERICA


The Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network (MHSSN) issued two reports
today on the failure of the NAFTA treaty to protect Mexican workers' health
and safety, and on what is actually needed to protect workplace safety in
international trade and investment treaties.

The MHSSN is a 12-year-old network of 400 occupational health and safety
professionals in the United States, Canada and Mexico who have donated their
time and expertise to worker- and community-based organizations on the
US-Mexico border, in Central America and in Asia (China and Indonesia). The
Network's goal is to increase the capacity of local, grassroots
organizations seeking to protect the health of workers in the maquiladoras
and other export processing zones. The Network's activities have included
on-site trainings, technical assistance, and extensive collaboration with
Mexican worker organizations filing complaints under the NAFTA "labor side
agreement."

The reports issued today are:

(1) "NAFTA's 10 Year Failure to Protect Mexican Workers' Health and Safety,"
an 18 page report which includes photographs by award-winning
photojournalist David Bacon and photos from the tri-national Coalition for
Justice in the Maquiladoras. The report also contains three data tables.

The report is in down-loadable PDF format at:
http://mhssn.igc.org/NAFTA_2004.pdf


(2) "Why NAFTA Failed and What's Need to Protect Workers' Health and Safety
in International Trade Treaties," a 15 page report which contains five data
tables and extensive references.

The report is in down-loadable PDF format at:
http://mhssn.igc.org/trade_2004.pdf


(3) The final report of the "Central America Health and Safety Training
Project in Guatemala City, Guatemala, December 2004." The report describes a
follow-up workshop to a September 2003 training in Guatemala, both conducted
by the MHSSN to build the capacity of Central American unions and
independent monitoring groups to conduct health and safety inspections of
the region's 900 maquiladoras producing garments and textiles for major U.S.
clothing retailers. The second seminar in December 2004 is part of the
preparations of region's pro-worker groups for dealing with the anticipated
adverse impact of the CAFTA treaty, which is now before the U.S. Congress.

The report is in down-loadable HMTL format at:
http://mhssn.igc.org/CentralAm.htm

Additional information about the MHSSN and its activities in Mexico, Central
America, Indonesia and China is also posted on the website at
www.igc.org/mhssn.