The OECD Guidelines are non-binding principles and standards for responsible business conduct, including industrial relations, by multinational enterprises that are agreed to by 30 OECD member countries plus nine non-member countries. The U.S. State Department serves as the “national contact point” to help mediate disputes in the U.S. arising out of breaches of the Guidelines by companies headquartered in another country.
On Aug. 2, Leo W. Gerard, USW International president, sent a letter to Wesley Schotz, director of the State Department’s Office on Investment Affairs, that outlined labor practices taken by Continental since its acquisition of General Tire in 1987 that the union characterized as “hostile.”
At the center of the compliant is Continental Tire North America’s demand for $32 million in concessions from USW-represented workers at its tire plant in Charlotte, N.C. A complaint has already been filed with the National Labor Relations Board, and a trial is set for Aug. 22.
"The full force of the U.S. Government should be brought to bear on this matter," said Gerard in his letter to Schotz.
