Press Release Archives

USCIB’s Adam Greene Named to Labor Department Advisory Committee

Published on October 26, 2011
USCIB's Adam Greene
USCIB’s Adam Greene

New York, N.Y., October 26, 2011 – Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs and corporate responsibility, has been named by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to serve on the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements.  The recently reconstituted advisory committee provides advice to the Secretary of Labor on the implementation of labor rules in existing free trade agreements, and on the labor provisions of FTAs being negotiated.

The committee’s other newly named business representatives all come from USCIB’s membership.  They include Darryl Knudsen of Gap Inc., Ed Potter of The Coca-Cola Company (chair of USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee) and Anna Walker of Levi Strauss & Co.

“I am delighted that Secretary Solis has selected such solid business representatives for this important advisory committee,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson.  “Effectively navigating the intersection of trade and labor policies is critical if we are to move forward on trade, grow our economy and create quality American jobs.  I congratulate Adam Greene, Ed Potter, Darryl Knudsen and Anna Walker on their appointments and extend USCIB’s full support for their work.”

USCIB is the primary forum for American business in the area of international labor policy and the linkages between trade and labor.  As the American affiliate of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), USCIB plays a direct role in the tripartite International Labor Organization, working alongside government and trade union representatives to develop global labor and workplace standards and programs.  In addition, through its affiliation with the OECD’s Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), USCIB is actively involved in OECD work in the areas of employment, labor and social affairs, interacting with labor via BIAC’s counterpart organization, the Trade Union Advisory Committee.

Mr. Greene manages U.S. business participation in the development of international labor standards, and advises companies on international and regional trends in labor and employment policy.  He coordinates USCIB involvement in the ILO’s governing and standard setting bodies, and promotes the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.  He is vice chair of the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Affairs to the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor.

Labor representatives on the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements were drawn from the United Steelworkers, the United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO, among others, while “public” representatives come from a number of academic institutions and think tanks.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading global business organizations, including the IOE and BIAC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Policy Committee
More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Business Urges G20 Partnership for Jobs Growth

Published on April 19, 2010
Daniel Funes de Rioja (left), executive vice president of the International Organization of Employers, and Rhian Chilcott of the Confederation of British Industry.
Daniel Funes de Rioja (left), executive vice president of the International Organization of Employers, and Rhian Chilcott of the Confederation of British Industry.

Washington, D.C., April 19, 2010 – Business leaders from major world economies met with G20 labor ministers in Washington today, urging them to work more closely with the private sector to preserve and create jobs, and improve worker employability.

Labor and employment ministers from throughout the G20 will convene in Washington tomorrow to make recommendations on employment to G20 leaders.

“Education and training outcomes, and the wider goals prioritized by the G20 leaders in Pittsburgh last year, will only be achieved by governments working with business as partners in both policy and service delivery,” stated Wiseman Nkuhlu of South Africa, president of the International Organization of Employers (IOE).

“In this recovery, continued attention must be given to restoring conditions for sustainable private sector-led recovery,” according to Charles P. Heeter, Jr., principal with Deloitte LLP and chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC). “This is the necessary path to maximize sustainable job creation.”

“Rapid and sustained economic recovery will drive job growth,” the business leaders said in a joint statement, available at www.ioe-emp.org and www.biac.org.

The IOE and BIAC jointly convened the G20 business delegation.  Their main recommendations to labor ministers were:

  • Review and reform regulation affecting business operations to better support a return to sustainable growth, investment and employment.
  • Focus on employability for all groups including those at the margins of the labor market as a key priority, including to ensure support and incentives for job seekers and the unemployed to move into employment.
  • Improve education and vocational training to help working people avoid unemployment and remain in the workforce during labor market crises.
  • Harness more flexible working options, including temporary and part-time work, especially as a way of getting more people back into the workforce.

American participation in the business delegation was organized by the United States Council for International Business, which serves as the U.S. affiliate of both IOE and BIAC.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading global business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Policy Committee

 

 

New Global Commitment to Tackle Jobs Crisis

Published on June 18, 2009
The ILO’s headquarters in Geneva: governments, employers and trade unions will adopt a Global Jobs Pact at the conclusion of the annual ILO conference.
The ILO’s headquarters in Geneva: governments, employers and trade unions will adopt a Global Jobs Pact at the conclusion of the annual ILO conference.

Geneva and New York, June 18, 2009 – Employers, trade unions and governments have reached a historic global agreement on measures to promote employment and enterprise development during economic recovery, according to the International Organization of Employers (IOE).

The Global Jobs Pact will today be adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) annual conference in Geneva – the main United Nations labor and social policy forum.  It will be the first truly global identification of labor and social measures to combat the crisis, which brings together both the developed and developing world.

The Geneva-based IOE is the largest private-sector network in the world, representing national business federations in 140 countries.  It is the leading international business organization on social and labor matters, directly representing business in the ILO and working closely with policy makers at all levels.  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as the IOE’s American affiliate.

USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, who serves on the ILO’s governing body, helped draft the Global Jobs Pact.  She said it lays out clearly the policy approaches needed to support job creation by the private sector.

“Enterprises of all sizes have been negatively impacted by the crisis, and they all require the right policies to return to growth,” stated Ms. Goldberg.

The Global Jobs Pact directly meets the challenge laid down by G20 governments in April – supporting employment by stimulating growth, investing in education and training and implementing effective labor market policies, while also focusing on the most vulnerable.

“Having agreed measures which can combat the crisis, the hard work now begins,” the IOE said in a statement.  “The challenge for the ILO, international organizations, governments, trade unions and employers, will be translating these ideas into practical measures which actually make a difference on the ground.  The true test of the new pact will be its translation into more jobs in all countries.”

The Global Jobs Pact underlines the key role the private sector must play in any recovery.  It emphasizes the importance of policies that support business survival, entrepreneurship and investment. It also identifies the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure development, and the positive role of rural employment, as measures to respond to the jobs crisis.

“The employers of the world are committed to ensuring the global jobs pact translates into more sustainable enterprises and therefore more jobs and a rapid and comprehensive global economic recovery,” stated the IOE.  “The survival of private enterprises will be critical to that recovery.”

The text of the Global Jobs Pact is available on the ILO’s website (www.ilo.org).  Click here to access a copy.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including the IOE, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.

Contacts:
Scott Barklamb, IOE
+41 22.917.68.02 or barklamb@ioe-emp.org

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

ILO website

IOE website

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee

Industry Groups Say Union Card-Check Bill Violates Principles of International Law

Published on March 18, 2009

ballot boxNew York, N.Y., March 18, 2009 – The proposed “card-check” bill currently before Congress, which would effectively eliminate secret ballots for employees to form unions, may violate longstanding international legal principles, according to a joint letter from two top industry groups.

The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have sent a letter to Congress spelling out how provisions of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) contradict the principles of international labor law as defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

“It’s disturbing that labor unions, which for years have pressed for integration of ILO labor standards into U.S. law and trade agreements, would be pushing to introduce a system that violates ILO standards,” said Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor and corporate responsibility.

USCIB is the American employers representative to the ILO, a tripartite United Nations body with representation from governments, businesses and trade unions that sets international labor standards and works to promote improved labor practices worldwide.  The International Organization of Employers (IOE) is the worldwide organization that coordinates business participation in the ILO.

The joint industry letter highlighted two provisions in the card-check bill, which would modify the National Labor Relations Act.   They would effectively eliminate the secret ballot in union elections and impose a compulsory arbitration scheme to set the terms of initial collective bargaining agreements.  The business groups said these were inconsistent with the ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The ILO calls secret ballot elections the preferred means for workers to select a union, since workers face far less risk of reprisal.  The UN body also discourages compulsory arbitration schemes, saying they interfere with voluntary collective bargaining and freedom of association.

“Congress needs to think long and hard about whether we really want to place the United States so far outside the agreed international norms on this issue,” said Mr. Greene.  “Even prisoners of war, under the Geneva Conventions, are guaranteed the right to a secret ballot when electing their representatives.”

These arguments will be elaborated in more detail in a forthcoming article by attorney Stefan Jan Marculewicz in the IOE’s 2009 International Labor and Social Policy Review.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including the IOE, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB
Tel: +1 212.703.5043 (office) or +1 917.420.0039 (mobile)
E-mail: jhuneke@uscib.org

Joint industry letter on Employee Free Choice Act

Article: “Elimination of the Secret Ballot Union Election and Compulsory Arbitration Under The Employee Free Choice Act – A Violation of Fundamental Principles of International Labor Law”

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee

USCIB’s Adam Greene Named to Advisory Body on Forced and Child Labor

Published on March 4, 2009
USCIB’s Adam Greene
USCIB’s Adam Greene

Appointment comes as forum spotlights child labor’s challenges to global supply chains

New York, N.Y., March 4, 2009 – Adam Greene, vice president of labor affairs and corporate responsibility with the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), has been named by the National Academy of Sciences to serve on the NAS Committee on Approaches to Reduce the Use of Forced or Child Labor, an important element in the Department of Labor’s efforts to prevent imports of goods made with prohibited forms of labor.

“We’re delighted that the National Academy of Sciences has recognized Adam Greene’s important contributions to the cause of combating forced labor and child labor,” stated USCIB’s President and CEO Peter M. Robinson.  “USCIB members take their responsibilities in this regard seriously and are working closely with Adam to ensure that forced and child labor are rooted out of global supply chains.”

The new committee will play an integral role in advising the Department of Labor on the framework for identifying those goods made with prohibited forms of labor.  The department is charged with developing a public list of all such goods by January 15, 2010.

Last week in Atlanta, USCIB, in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers (IOE), and the International Labor Organization (ILO), held a one-day international business forum on “Engaging Business – Addressing Child Labor,” hosted by The Coca-Cola Company.  Child labor experts from the ILO, business leaders and other key actors converged to share concrete experiences dealing with child labor from the local to the global levels as well as the growing business risks resulting from child labor in supply chains and how business can strengthen efforts to address child labor.

Speakers at the USCIB forum included Muhtar Kent, president and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, Brent Wilton, deputy secretary general of the IOE, Ed Potter, director of global workplace rights with The Coca-Cola Company, and USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, a member of the ILO’s Governing Body who moderated a panel on the impact of child labor on business.

USCIB is the primary forum through which American business advances its interests in the area of international labor policy.  It works with the executive branch and Congress to develop trade policies that also promote sound labor practices. Serving as the U.S. affiliate of the IOE, which represents business in the International Labor Organization, USCIB was instrumental in the development of the ILO’s Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

In developing its list of prohibited goods, the Department of Labor will create a standard set of practices to reduce the likelihood that prohibited goods make their way into supply chains.  The new committee will advise the department on the framework for identifying and organizing such practices.

Mr. Greene is responsible for USCIB’s activities on labor and corporate responsibility.  He manages U.S. business participation in the development of international labor standards and advises companies on international and regional trends in labor and employment policy.  He also coordinates USCIB involvement in the governing and standard setting bodies of the ILO and promotes the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.  He serves as vice chair of the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Affairs to the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including the IOE, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB
Tel: +1 212.703.5043 (office) or +1 917.420.0039 (mobile)
E-mail: jhuneke@uscib.org

Agenda of February 25 USCIB forum, “Engaging Business: Addressing Child Labor”

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee

More on USCIB’s Corporate Responsibility Committee

National Academy of Sciences website

World Employers: Financial Markets Need to Provide Stability and Liquidity to Business

Published on February 10, 2009
IOE President Prof. Wiseman Nkuhlu
IOE President Prof. Wiseman Nkuhlu

Lisbon and New York, February 10, 2009 – As governments around the world enact stimulus measures to deal with the recession, financial institutions must move quickly to speed the injection of new capital into struggling economies, according to the head of the International Organization of Employers.

“The financial markets need to fulfill their proper task of providing stability and liquidity to business, rather than serving their own interests,” stated IOE President Prof. Wiseman Nkuhlu of South Africa on the release of an IOE statement on the crisis at a forum in Lisbon.  “They must act to ease the current credit crunch and start circulating in the economy the cash injections received through various government stimulus packages.”

The Geneva-based IOE is the largest private-sector network in the world, representing national business federations in 140 countries.  It is the leading international business organization on social and labor matters, directly representing business in the International Labor Organization (ILO) and working closely with policy makers at all levels.  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as the IOE’s American affiliate.

Just as the financial sector bore some of the responsibility for the onset of the crisis, it bears a similar responsibility for getting the economy moving again, said Prof. Nkuhlu, who spoke on the eve of an ILO European meeting in Lisbon.

“This easing of credit is particularly true for the small and medium-sized enterprises which form the backbone of our economies and employ our people,” he added.  “They are the sometimes forgotten majority in efforts to kick start the economy.”

Speakers at the IOE forum speakers provided a global overview of the impact and responses to the crisis.  In summing up the session, IOE European Vice President Renate Hornung-Draus of Germany spoke of the many similarities between countries in the identification of what employers see as critical in ensuring the life of enterprise and of the jobs they provide.

“Key support is needed to secure the fundamentals of growth,” she stated,” particularly in areas of ongoing investment in people through education and training.  The ILO meeting of European employers, workers and governments over the coming week needs to focus on the actions we all have to take to start moving forward again.”

IOE Executive Vice President Daniel Funes de Rioja of Argentina, who serves as employers’ vice chair of the ILO Governing Body, stressed the need to maintain an open trading system as a key means for business to revitalize its activities.

“We remain in a globalized world, and recent calls for a return to protectionist measures to satisfy short term political unpopularity must be actively and persistently resisted,” he urged.  “For example, a country like Argentina, which has itself had direct experience of a financial crisis, found a  key element in its recovery was its continuing to be able to access global markets.”

Within the ILO and elsewhere, employers need to be vigilant about adopting failed policies of the past as answers for the present difficulties,” warned Mr. Funes de Rioja.  “We owe it to our enterprises and to our citizens to remain focused on the real means of reviving growth and to make it happen quickly.”

The forum participants also benefited from the views and reflections on the impact of the crisis in their respective regions of USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, who is IOE’s regional vice president for North America, as well as Yogendra Modi, chairman and CEO of Great Eastern Energy Corp. of India, and Francisco Van Zeller, president of the Confederation of Portuguese Industry.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including the IOE, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.

Contacts:
Antonio Peñalosa, IOE secretary general
+41 79.409.27.16 or ioe@ioe-emp.org

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

IOE statement: Economic Recovery and Employment

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee

IOE website

USCIB Welcomes Bipartisan Trade Policy Accord

Published on May 14, 2007

3699_image002New York, N.Y., May 14, 2007 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents hundreds of America’s top global companies, welcomed the agreement between the White House and Congress on a new trade policy “template,” which it said should clear the way toward approval of pending U.S. free trade pacts and renewal of the president’s trade negotiating authority.

USCIB, the U.S. affiliate of the International Organization of Employers, which represents business in the International Labor Organization, said it was especially pleased that negotiators had forged a compromise approach to incorporating international labor principles into U.S. trade agreements that recognizes the role of the ILO to help its member countries advance labor conditions.

USCIB President Peter M. Robinson applauded the efforts of U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to conclude the deal.

“Ambassador Schwab and Chairman Rangel have worked tirelessly to forge a bilateral consensus on trade policy, paving the way for further trade liberalization that will benefit business, workers, consumers and farmers,” stated Mr. Robinson.  He noted that, at last December’s USCIB annual award dinner, Congressman Rangel had underscored his strong interest in promoting a forward-looking trade agenda.  “The Chairman delivered, and we are most appreciative.”

Mr. Robinson said the way was now clear to gain approval of the free trade agreements currently before the Congress.  “Hopefully, Congress will approve these FTAs and extend the president’s trade promotion authority,” he stated.  “Extension of trade authority is urgently needed to generate movement in the Doha Round, which is a high priority for U.S. business.”

Mr. Robinson said he was gratified that the agreement’s labor provisions prominently feature the International Labor Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was developed at the initiative of the International Organization of Employers’ members, including USCIB.  The ILO’s tripartite structure encompasses representation from governments, employers and trade unions, so the ILO declaration’s principles have the support of all three groups in the U.S. and internationally.  It is therefore appropriate to reaffirm them in U.S. trade agreements as objectives that all countries should recognize and strive to realize in their national laws.

USCIB said it recognized that the negotiations on transforming the agreement, presently in the form of a joint “concept paper,” into legislation would require continued bipartisan cooperation between the Executive Branch and Congress.  It also recognizes that concerns may persist in the business community on non-labor issues covered by the agreement, particularly on intellectual property.  “We are confident that, at the end of the day, the same sense of bipartisanship that led to this agreement will carry forward in the drafting of actual legislation,” stated Mr. Robinson.

The United States Council for International Business promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment.  Its membership includes more than 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion.  As the exclusive American affiliate of three key global business groups – the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers, and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD –  USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB

Tel: +1 212 703 5043 or +1 917 420 0039 (mobile)

E-mail: jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee

New editor takes over ICC corporate governance website

Published on June 11, 2003

Paris, June 11, 2003 – ICC’s Corporate Governance website moved into top gear today with up-to-the-minute coverage of developments of vital interest to companies across the world.

Stories include moves by the European Commission to set new rules billed as “a model for the rest of the world” as well as a report from New Delhi about controversial new government proposals to strengthen the role of independent directors.

Also on the site is an account of the implications for Australian companies of new disclosure rules introduced by the Australian stock exchange and a report under a London dateline about heightened public interest in boardroom pay – and the repercussions for companies.

With more than 8,000 member companies in over 140 countries, ICC is the largest, most representative private sector association in the world. It is represented in the U.S. by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), its American national committee based in New York.

From Manila comes a story on efforts by the Asian Development Bank and the OECD to bring about swift improvements in corporate governance across Asia. An OECD White Paper just issued maintains that the most serious corporate governance challenge facing the Asian region is the “exploitation of non-controlling shareholders”.

The ICC Corporate Governance website was introduced a year ago with a mission to assist companies, and especially small and medium-sized enterprises, in achieving the highest standards of corporate governance. At the same time, it seeks to keep abreast of relevant government and private sector initiatives.

Taking over as the site’s editor is Australian writer and broadcaster Colin Chapman, a former Director of Television for the Financial Times. In the last 18 months, Mr Chapman has been course director on financial and political reporting for the Commonwealth Press Union, the British Council, and USIS. He has also acted as a visiting lecturer at the University of Beijing, where among other subjects he lectured on corporate governance.

Julian Kassum, site manager, said: “The site takes a strong ‘how to’ approach and will be especially useful to companies that are overhauling their corporate governance provisions.”

One of the big issues that will shortly be analysed in a full-length feature is whistle-blowing, and safeguards for employees who draw attention to irregularities.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce. Its membership includes some 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contacts:
Bryce Corbett, ICC Communications
(011-33-6) 20-47-32-52 or bryce.corbett@iccwbo.org

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB Communications
(212) 703-5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

The ICC Corporate Governance Website

More on USCIB’s Financial Services Committee