Forced Labor of Public Employees in the United States

Abstract

In this essay, the writer discusses an unusual development at the International Labor Organization: The ILO supervisory committees have found the U.S. government to be in noncompliance with conventions it has ratified, including Convention 105 on the abolition of forced labor. In light of the government's defiant position, the ILO committees will have difficulty assessing the scope of the problem that may exist under U.S. law and practice, unless they receive direct help from U.S. workers and their unions or associations.