The AFL-CIO is asking Washington D.C. to suspend the United State's free trade pact with Bahrain, after the country cracked down on labor leaders. The AFL-CIO says that this is the first time they have attempted to halt a free trade pact, but that Bahrain's actions are so unacceptable that the US should not be in the agreement with them. T The petition filed says that the umbrella labor group in Bahrain, the General Federation of Bahraini Trade Unions has had their leaders detained or dismissed.he appeal was filed last week in Washington, and the US has six months to respond, however the AFL-CIO says that they are seeking to move the process along.
See "US union group seeks to halt trade pact with Bahrain over kingdom's crackdown", Brian Murphy, May 1, 2011