The International Defense of Workers

Kevin J. Middlebrook (1950–2022) was professor of Latin American politics at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. His books include The Paradox of Revolution: Labor, the State, and Authoritarianism in Mexico (1995) and Organized Labour and Politics in Mexico: Changes, Continuities, and Contradictions (2012).

Kevin J. Middlebrook skillfully weaves together the complex story of the international defense of labor rights across the levels of state sovereignty, state-to-state trade negotiations, workers’ campaigns, and practical results. Through meticulous examination of original sources and interviews with direct participants, he creates a rare, balanced account of the contending positions of state and nonstate actors in the United States and Mexico. His insightful analysis illuminates this politically salient history and the continuing contestation over the international defense of workers' rights.

• List of Acronyms and Abbreviations1. The International Defense of Labor Rights: Concepts, Policy Arenas, and the Challenge of State Sovereignty2. Pathways to the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation: From Multilateral Proposals to Unilateral Actions Linking Labor Rights and Trade Agreements3. Context and Constraints: The Origin and Negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s Labor Rights Provisions4. The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation in Principle and in Practice, 1994–20205. Legacies of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation: Labor Rights, U.S. Free-Trade Agreements, and U.S.-Mexican Negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, 2001–20176. Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement: Labor Rights and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, 2017–20197. Labor Rights, Trade Agreements, State Sovereignty: Past Record and Future ProspectsAcknowledgmentsAppendix A: Statistical Analysis of U.S. Generalized System of Preferences Cases, 1985–1995Appendix B: Annotated List of NAALC Public Communications Submitted to the Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. National Administrative Offices (NAOs), 1994–2020Appendix C: Annotated List of Public Submissions to the U.S. Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA), 2008–2016Appendix D: Annotated List of Rapid Response Mechanism Petitions Concerning Mexico Submitted to the U.S. Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement, 2021–2022NotesBibliographyIndex