New labor Web site tracks U.S. jobs shipped overseas

WASHINGTON — Organized labor is starting to track companies that ship U.S. jobs overseas and will make the information available to the public in a database.

An AFL-CIO affiliate, Working America, has compiled the information from a variety of sources, including the government’s trade adjustment assistance program for workers who lose jobs because of trade, companies’ annual reports and financial disclosures, and research by interest groups.

Working America is an AFL-CIO organization created for workers unable to join unions. On its Web site, http://www.workingamerica.org, visitors can look up companies that have or will move jobs overseas, based on Zip codes, industries and company names.

The database does not distinguish between U.S.-based and international companies. It also does not provide a total figure of U.S. jobs that have gone abroad.

Data is available starting from January 2001, when President Bush took office. The AFL-CIO and most of organized labor has endorsed Democrat John Kerry for president.

The shifting of U.S. jobs is a hot political topic, especially in some Midwestern states that could determine who wins the White House. Kerry, a longtime supporter of trade agreements, has promised organized labor he will review all pacts if he wins the election, and has pledged to strictly enforce labor laws as part of those agreements.

About 2.67 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost since Bush took office.