The Perils of Being a Union Member in Colombia

Colombia’s recent history is a bloody and violent one. Since the 1960’s, multiple factions including government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been fighting for supremacy. Members of unions have particularly suffered from the free-for-all killing sprees. Union members and their families have been targeted ever since the beginning of Colombia’s civil war, with over 2,500 union members killed since 1985. There has been no justice for these victims – as of 2008, less than 100 cases resulted in convictions. In recent years, the number of killings has begun to drop. However, the numbers are still unreasonably high – between 2002 and 2008, 400 union members were killed.

Why Are Union Members Being Targeted?

Union members are drawn into the civil war when right-wing paramilitaries accuse them of harboring left-wing sympathizers. Union members are also attacked if they voice opposition to the paramilitaries’ methods of brutally controlling areas of Colombia. In 2008, 17 union members were killed. This was an increase from the previous year when only 10 members were killed. This increase was due to the fact that union members were supporting a proposed trade deal between Colombia and the United States – a deal that many insurgents were against.

Protecting Union Members

In an effort to protect union members and officials, the Colombian Ministry of the Interior has been attempting to provide people with transportation, secure housing, paid leave, security training, life insurance and paid leave. In 2008, the government authorized the use of $45.7 million dollars to protect people who were in danger of being killed. Around a third of that money was used to protect union members. This money paid for the more than 200 union members that received armored cars and bodyguards. In addition, union members used this money to help bulletproof 170 union buildings and homes. The Ministry’s efforts have been subsidized by the US government and unions in the US and Europe that want to help their fellow unions.

The US-Colombia Connection

Unions and human rights activists have begun to suspect that US companies that have factories in Colombia have a connection to paramilitaries. For example, the Sinaltrainal Union claims that in during a murder that took place in a Coca-Cola bottling factory, the manager of the plant brought the paramilitaries into the company in order to break up the union there. Two months before this murder occurred, the plant manager announced his intentions to have the paramilitaries break up the union. Plant workers had begged Coca-Cola to intervene, but the company did nothing.

Colombian labor activists have taken a stand against these killings by asking US citizens to help them in their plight. Groups sympathetic to these activists have gone to US court and filed federal lawsuits against companies accused of having paramilitary connections. These lawsuits were filed under the Alien Torts Act, which allows people from other countries to sue US citizens and companies for crimes committed abroad. Hopefully these lawsuits will hold companies accountable and reduce the killings.