Claiming that labor abuses in China have cost millions of American their jobs and caused extensive harm to Chinese citizens, the AFL-CIO filed a petition asking the U.S. Trade Representative's office to launch a probe into what they called China's "systematic repression" of worker rights. This is the second time since 2004 that the union has filed such a petition, which demands a determination as to whether China's actions constitute unfair trade practices, and thus warrant U.S. sanctions.
See "US labor groups urge sanctions probe on China", Doug Palmer, Reuters, June 8, 2006