As Guatemala prepares for elections, the Obama administration requests an investigation of labor abuses

US Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, announced Tuesday that the US is requesting an arbitration panel to investigate allegations of labor violations in Guatemala. The Obama administration says this is the first time the US has ever pursued a labor case under a trade agreement. The case, originally filed by The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in April 2008, concerns two alleged murders of Guatemalan union leaders and ongoing threats to union activists and their members. Meanwhile, violence against activists in Guatemala continues. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) says last month two women were brutally murdered in the La Selva area near Guatemala City. Both women were activists campaigning against multinational energy companies. FSRN’s Tim Russo has just returned from Guatemala. In this extended version of that interview, Danny Wood starts by asking Tim how significant is this request by the Obama administration for an arbitration panel.