The United Steelworkers in the United States says it sent letters to select members of the American Chamber of Commerce in China urging them to distance themselves from the Chamber's attempt to undermine a proposed law that would bolster some rights of Chinese workers.

The letters note that while the Chinese Draft Labor Contract Law does not go far enough in protecting the rights of Chinese workers, it would be a significant improvement over current Chinese labor law.

"It is therefore a great tragedy that segments of the business community have attempted to seriously undermine the draft law. The American Chamber of Commerce in China has stridently opposed China's Draft Labor Contract Law since it was released in April 2006," the letter reads.

USW says Alcoa responded to the USW letter by distancing itself from this effort by AmCham China. The company committed to express its concerns to the Chamber and seek out like-minded companies to work with jointly on this issue.

AmCham's campaign to undermine a law that would bolster Chinese workers' rights was brought to USW's attention by Global Labor Strategies, which recently released a report entitled "Undue Influence: Corporations Gain Ground in Battle over China's New Labor Law."

According to GLS co-director Brendan Smith, "The opposition to these modest reforms reveals the hypocrisy of US based multinational corporations. They claim to be bringing improved labor rights and standards to China when in reality they are lobbying to preserve the status quo of low wages and poor working conditions for Chinese workers."

Besides Alcoa, USW says it sent letters to members of AmCham China that employ USW members such as British Petroleum, Corning, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Exxon Mobil, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Libbey, MeadWestvaco, Philips, PPG Industries and Rio Tinto.

The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing more than 850,000 workers in the United States and Canada.

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