The International Labor Organization (ILO) announced here today that the United States has decided to rejoin the organization from which it withdrew in November 1977 because it considered the ILO to be too much involved in outside political issues and maintaining an anti-Israel attitude. The ILO said President Carter announced the U.S. decision in Washington today, saying it was supported by U.S. trade unions and management organizations. At the ILO conference here last June an anti-Israel resolution presented by the Arab member states was rejected. This move further paved the way for the U.S. return, an ILO spokesman said.
ILO director general Francis Blanchard said: “I am extremely glad that this great democracy has decided to return to the organization. This decision substantially reinforces the ILO’s capability for action at a time when the world faces pressing problems in the labor field, problems of employment, working conditions, industrial relations and human rights. These problems require the combined attention of all members of the world community. The ILO’s task is a universal one, and to accomplish it we need universal membership and access to universal resources. The U.S. decision is an important step in that direction.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
