As the proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) gets debated by politicians one thing remains clear: Colombia is a dangerous place to be a trade union member.

Thirty-nine trade unionists in that country were murdered in 2007, and another 17 have been killed in 2008—a rate of more than one a week, according to the AFL-CIO. Of the more than 2,500 murders of trade unionists since 1986, the government has successfully prosecuted less than 3 percent of these cases, the U.S. union adds.

These concerns have to be addressed by the federal government before the trade agreement gets enacted. This is not just a political issue; it is an issue fundamental to U.S. human rights policy.

Unions have been cautious or critical of other trade agreements, such as NAFTA. These accords may have helped the U.S. economy on the macro-level but also have led to job loss for individual workers. Now, even more is at stake. The concerns expressed by the AFL-CIO and others about the proposed trade agreement with Colombia are fundamental to the United States and all that it stands for.