One of the nation’s largest labor organizations is calling for the suspension of one of America’s smallest trade pacts after reports of illegally detained union leaders in Bahrain have appeared in the media.

Democratic uprising in the Middle Eastern country have led to government suppression across the country, and labor leaders in the country have been one of the main targets.

“Bahrain’s actions have gone so far beyond the pale,” said Jeff Vogt, deputy director of the AFL-CIO’s international department. “We shouldn’t be in this agreement.”

Under the agreement, Bahrain is required to protect human rights and respect the rights of workers to organize collectively.

By jailing labor leaders, and replacing others, Bahrain is failing to live up to the terms laid out in the bilateral trade pact, the AFL-CIO says.

That is the claim made in a petition filed with the U.S. Office of Trade and Legal Affairs.

“The leaders of unions (both GFBTU affiliates and nonaffiliates) have suffered retaliation for their trade union activity. The nine executive members of the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (ASRY) trade union have been dismissed …Bahrain National Gas (BANAGAS) fired the entire executive committee of the union … The Bahrain Petroleum Company fired trade union chairman and a founder of the Bahrain trade union movement … On April 4, Rulla el Saffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society was detained and her whereabouts are unknown,” the petition reads.

Though trade between the two countries is relatively small – just $1.5 billion annually – labor leaders say it is more a matter of principle. The crackdown could also have major implications across much of the rest of the Middle East, the AFL-CIO says.

“If the Bahraini (labor) federation is crushed, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the Gulf,” Vogt said.

Labor leaders are also putting the pressure on military officials. Last week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking that the military to also pull support out of the country.

“The trade union movement in Bahrain is critical to democratic and peaceful coexistence in a pluralistic society…The Department should demand of its counterparts an end to the extraordinary repression taking place at the doorstep of one of America’s largest military installations (U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet). Any lesser response to this crisis undermines our moral authority,” the letter says.

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