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North America

The Washington Office

Contact: Mark Langevin - Subregional Secretary

Address: 1200 18th Street NW #700 - Washington, D.C. 20036 - USA

Telephone: 202-744-0072

Email: mark.langevin@world-psi.org

World Day against Child Labour

12 June 2015

On the World Day against Child Labour, 12 June, American Federation of Teachers Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson, co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition makes a declaration on behalf of her fellow unionists.

Safe handling of patients

28 April 2015

In April 2014, the New York State legislature in the US enacted the “Safe Patient Handling Act” that is now in the process of implementation. It is the 9th US state to enact such a law

Expert Global Commission Responds to One-Sided Tax Debate

11 March 2015
Photo: DonkeyHotey - Creative Commons

(New York, 11 March 2015) Responding to widespread anger about corporate tax avoidance and concerns that current tax reform processes are inadequate, a new nonpartisan body—the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT)—has been established to propose reforms from the perspective of the public interest.

Unhappy Meal: Unions expose McDonald's tax practices

27 February 2015

Fast food and public sector unions from across the Atlantic came together to expose the extent of the tax avoidance practices of fast food giant McDonald's.

Public services are essential for economic growth

12 February 2015
GUF meeting with IMF

Economic models that promote labour flexibility and privatisation are destined to fail. This was PSI’s main message to the high-level meetings between the Global Union Federations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on 11 February in Washington.

Right to strike covered by ILO Convention 87, says Canada’s Supreme Court

04 February 2015
Canada supreme court

Canada's supreme court has made a landmark ruling, affirming that the right to strike is an essential part of a meaningful collective bargaining process and is protected in the Canadian constitution.

TISA: new leaked document reveals US corporations’ threat to privacy and data protection

17 December 2014
Photo: Koeb

Consumers’ protections and privacy are at risk, along with national governments’ sovereignty, at the sole benefit of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) corporations.

Briefing on US TISA proposal on E-commerce, Technology Transfer, Cross-border Data Flows and Net Neutrality

17 December 2014

A proposal by the US Trade Representative (USTR) dated 25 April 2014 to the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations has been leaked. It focuses on e-commerce, technology transfer, cross-border data flows and net neutrality.

Video: Celeste Drake Trade & Globalization, AFL-CIO, USA

17 October 2014

"Agreement by agreement the policy space for governments is diminished then workers who live in democracies find out that their democracies can't be as responsive as they should be. [...] These kind of agreements cannot be made behind the workers backs, behind closed doors" says Celeste Drake, keynote speaker at PSI’s Global Trade in Services Forum, From GATS to TISA, held in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network.

Climate change, energy democracy and the role of trade unions

22 September 2014

Ahead of the People's Climate March on 21 September in New York City, PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, and author and activist Naomi Klein talk about Climate Change, Energy Democracy and the role of trade unions.

Video: Climate Change and Energy Democracy

22 September 2014

Ahead of the People's Climate March on 21 September in New York City, PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, and author and activist Naomi Klein, talk about Climate Change, Energy Democracy and the role of the trade unions.

Audio: RadioLabour report on the Global Trade Summit

19 September 2014

Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors. Listen to the RadioLabour report on PSI's Global Trade Summit.

Public services unions open new trade agreements to public debate

16 September 2014

#psiglobaltradesummit 2014 Washington, D.C., Tuesday 16 September 2014 - Public services unions worldwide are determined to open to public scrutiny a new wave of global trade agreements, which are now being discussed behind closed doors.

Power to the People: A Strategy Discussion on Advancing Social Ownership of Energy

11 September 2014

PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, with representatives of PSI affiliates will be taking part in a strategic discussion on advancing social ownership of energy organised by the Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) on 20 September 2014 in New York. The TUED delegation will join in the People's Climate March on 21 September 2014.