ADVISORY/Stanford Law School to Host Conference on International Labor Standards.

Business/News Editors and Education/Legal Writers

ADVISORY ... for Sunday (May 19)

STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2002

As the impact of globalization continues to spread, opening and integrating world markets, the role of labor is more pressing. International labor issues have been at the heart of the "Battle in Seattle," Congressional debates over extension of most-favored-nation trade status for China, as well as, most recently, "fast-track" authority for the executive branch of government to enter into trade agreements without Congressional approval. What are the effects of globalization on workers in both the developing and the industrialized worlds? What rules and standards are in place to ensure fair treatment? What rules may and should be enacted in the future?

On May 19-21, 2002, Stanford Law School will host the International Labor Standards Conference, which will strive to answer such questions. The Conference will feature representatives from business and labor, as well as government officials, members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academics, and others from around the globe.

Congressman Sander Levin (D-MI) will kick off the conference at 4:00 pm on Sunday, May 19, by delivering the keynote address entitled Beyond Seattle: The Government's Role in Promoting Free Labor and Free Trade. Panels on Monday and Tuesday will feature presentations by leaders who are pushing to develop and implement international labor standards including:

-- William B. Gould IV (Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law, Stanford Law
School and former Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board), who will
provide an overview of the conference. Professor Gould will touch upon problems
and opportunities that globalization presents for international labor
standards. He will discuss the rationale for public and private international
regulation of labor standards and policy approaches.

-- Robert J. Flanagan (Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Economics, Stanford
Graduate School of Business), who will address the issue of whether, in fact,
there is a "race to the bottom," through which nations with the lowest labor
standards have an economic advantage. Professor Flanagan's research finds that
evidence does not support this argument.

-- Sarah Cleveland (Professor of Law, University of Texas Law School), who will
describe a wide variety of national, regional, and international forms of
regulation of labor standards. In her paper and in previous writings, Professor
Cleveland focuses upon innovative national litigation and its role in the
regulatory process.

-- Virginia Leary (Fromm Professor Emeritus of International and Comparative
Law, University of California, Hastings College of Law), who will focus on
various forms of international regulation, including guidelines from the
International Labor Organization, World Trade Organization, North America Free
Trade Agreement, and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

-- Enrique de la Garza Toledo (Professor of Sociology, Universidad Autonoma
Metropolitana Iztapalapa, and Visiting Scholar, University of California,
Berkeley), who will provide a broad overview of labor law reform in Mexico and
focus on developments since President Vincente Fox's election.

-- Gary Fields (Professor of Labor Economics and Chair of the Department of
International and Comparative Labor, School of Industrial and Labor Relations,
Cornell University), who will focus on the International Labor Organization
Decent Work initiative as it relates to developing nations. His presentation
will attempt to contrast American unilateral trade sanctions with multilateral
arrangements.

-- Dong Baohua (Associate Professor, East China University of Politics and Law,
and Director, China Institute of Law), who will address labor law reform in
China and the changes in state enterprises and private industry.

-- Michael Posner (Executive Director, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights), who
will examine the evolution of private codes of conduct and discuss the problems
associated with them -- measurable standards, independent monitoring, and the
tensions with countries like China and Vietnam, which oppose aspects of these
standards.

The Conference will conclude on May 21, with closing remarks from Founding Partner and Chairman of the Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie LLP Roy Heenan and Director of Research and Policy for the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, Mark Levinson. Heenan and Levinson will respond to the papers presented from an "on the ground" perspective.

The conference is part of Stanford's International Labor Studies Program, a research, teaching and policy development initiative to examine the impact of globalization on the condition of labor internationally. The Program's Advisory Panel includes representatives from business, labor, and academia.

The Faculty Organizing Committee includes Professor Gould of Stanford Law School, Professor Flanagan of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Professor Stephen Diamond of Santa Clara Law School, Professor Stanley Lubman of the Center for Law and Society and the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley and Professor Brian Bercusson of King's College, University of London and Herman Phleger Visiting Professor at Stanford Law School.

Note to Editors: The conference will be held at Stanford Law School, room 190, May 19-21. Keynote address by Congressman Sander Levin (D-MI) will take place, Sunday, May 19 at 4 pm and is free and open to the public. Registration is required for the remainder of the conference on May 20-21. The conference is free for students, academics, and members of the press. (For registration information and conference research papers: http://www.law.stanford.edu/ilc.)