Woot! TPP looks dead for this year

It may well be time for <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a> to celebrate. The secret <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/TPP-not-about-trade.html" rel="nofollow">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a>, also known as the TPP, looks to be dead this year!<br /><br />A key U.S. House of Representatives leader said yesterday there isn't enough time left on the calendar to pass <strike>a fast one</strike> '<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/teamsters-lobby-against-tpp.html" rel="nofollow">fast track' legislation</a>. 'Fast track' is just a euphemism for 'rubber stamp,' and without a rubber stamp, the <a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19843-trans-pacific-partnership-we-will-not-obey-building-a-global-resistance-movement-to-transnational-corporate-power" rel="nofollow">TPP will not pass</a>.<br /><br />Here's why: If people knew what was in the TPP, they'd throw everyone who voted for it out of office. It's a deal to destroy democracy, empower corporations, lower wages, censor the Internet, raise the price of medicine and undermine food safety. Giant corporations have been let in on the negotiations, but the American public has not. Even members of Congress are only allowed tiny peeks at the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/alan-grayson-trans-pacific-partnership_n_3456167.html" rel="nofollow">TPP texts</a>. <br /><br />Fortunately, <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2013/11/congress-may-have-killed-the-trans-pacific-partnership/" rel="nofollow">Congress may have already killed the TPP</a> by sending two letters opposing fast track. They were signed by 173 lawmakers, 151 Democrats and 22 Republicans.  <br /><br /><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-rt-us-usa-trade-tpa-20131119,0,7297542.story" rel="nofollow">Reuters</a> reports, <blockquote>The Obama administration's hopes of securing "fast-track" trade negotiating authority from Congress this year look certain to be dashed given the limited time left on the congressional calendar, the No. 2 House Democrat said on Tuesday. </blockquote><blockquote>The administration wants Congress to quickly pass Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, to help it secure a trade agreement with 11 other Pacific Rim nations, including Australia, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and Mexico. </blockquote><blockquote>"I don't realistically see TPA moving," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told reporters, saying that Congress would likely be busy with other bills during the eight working days it has left in 2013.</blockquote>Of course, there's always next year....<br /><br />

fast track Teamsters TPP Woot! TPP looks dead for this year

It may well be time for Teamsters to celebrate. The secret Trans-Pacific Partnership, also known as the TPP, looks to be dead this year!A key U.S. House of Representatives leader said yesterday there isn't enough time left on the calendar to pass a f…

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Another murdered Colombian trade unionist – brought to you by “free” trade

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goyes.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/901-bgde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://goyes.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/901-bgde.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar López Triviño</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meet Oscar López Triviño. He’s the latest victim of so-called free trade.<br /><br />On November 9 <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2013/11/14/headlines/striking_nestle_worker_shot_dead_in_colombia" rel="nofollow">Oscar was shot dead</a> by paramilitaries in the Colombian city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugalagrande" rel="nofollow">Bugalagrande</a>. Why? Because Oscar was a union member.<br /><br />Several days before his murder, Oscar’s union, <a href="http://www.sinaltrainal.org/" rel="nofollow">SINALTRAINAL</a>, had launched a hunger strike in front of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9" rel="nofollow">Nestlé</a> factory where Oscar worked for more than 25 years. The company <a href="http://colombiareports.co/nestle-worker-union-activist-killed-receiving-threats-paramilitary-western-colombia/" rel="nofollow">withdrew from negotiations</a> several months ago and was trying to dump the union. Nestlé workers were demanding the company respect various agreements with the union.<br /><br />Any worker action, especially a strike, can be a deadly one in Colombia, the most dangerous country in the world to be a union member.<br /><br />The day before Oscar was killed, members of his union received death threats from paramilitaries. Amnesty International <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR23/052/2013/en/a498ef80-0bb9-49ff-9c62-3eaa487f81b1/amr230522013en.html" rel="nofollow">reports</a>:</span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On 8 November, the paramilitary group Los Urabeños sent a death threat by SMS to the phones of José Onofre Esquivel Luna and Álvaro Varela Pérez, who are both leaders of the Bugalagrande branch of SINALTRAINAL and work for Nestlé. The death threat read: “Guerrilla fighters son-of-a-bitch you continue to mess with Nestlé [,] no more forgiveness [,] we will cut you up [,] death to all communists of SINALTRAINAL.”  </span></blockquote>This is what life is like for union members under the reign of a trade deal in a country that is notorious for anti-union violence.<br /><br />Armed corporate goons like Los Urabeños have been responsible for the murders of 11 other union members in Colombia this year alone. A <a href="http://democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/sites/democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/files/documents/Colombia%20trip%20report%20-%2010.29.13%20-%20formatted%20-%20FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow">recent report</a> by US Reps. <a href="http://georgemiller.house.gov/" rel="nofollow">George Miller</a> and <a href="http://mcgovern.house.gov/">Jim McGovern</a> concluded that <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/trade-deal-didnt-end-antiunion-violence-in-Colombia.html">threats, assaults and disappearances are on the rise</a>. Last year 22 union members were murdered in Colombia. None of the murderers have been brought to justice.<br /><br />Since its inception in 1982, SINALTRAINAL alone has seen <a href="http://www.wola.org/publications/violence_threats_and_attacks_aim_to_undermine_sinaltrainal_for_defending_labor_rights" rel="nofollow">more than 20 of its members killed</a> by right-wing death squads. Among slain SINALTRAINAL members, 13 worked for Nestlé. The company has of course denied any connections to paramilitary violence.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DR42BsM_N0ObVVotaxHpLrxknyAEk_fz7OmbcilLgffM5RiVKlS87x0q8e_eM_Bx2nYHAQJ9c1xFuTbptDDK08UNbHz3PlpEQibw8n6OCMjKjUt8qdeST364AZlDeJO606wNHH3ncr9z/s1600/colombia-union-blood.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DR42BsM_N0ObVVotaxHpLrxknyAEk_fz7OmbcilLgffM5RiVKlS87x0q8e_eM_Bx2nYHAQJ9c1xFuTbptDDK08UNbHz3PlpEQibw8n6OCMjKjUt8qdeST364AZlDeJO606wNHH3ncr9z/s1600/colombia-union-blood.png" /></a>Oscar’s death is a tragic reminder of what can happen when governments enact trade deals to enrich corporations while providing no say or protections for workers – especially in a country like Colombia.</div><br />Yet that’s what is happening again with the <a href="http://www.teamster.org/teamster-magazine/2013-summer/main-stories/stop-tpp">Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)</a>, an anti-worker trade deal being negotiated behind closed doors by Pacific Rim countries. Among those countries is Vietnam, a country that is rife with labor abuses including sweatshop conditions, poverty wages and <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/vietnam-allows-forced-child-labor.html">child slavery</a>.<br /><br />If conditions in Colombia tell us anything, it’s that without public pressure the TPP will not only allow labor rights violations to continue in places like Vietnam, it will make them worse.<br /><br />Fortunately, members of Congress are waking up to the fact that trade deals that are not fully vetted hurt workers and the environment. More than 190 members of the House are on record <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/business/international/house-stalls-trade-pact-momentum.html?emc=edit_tnt_20131112&tntemail0=y&_r=3&" rel="nofollow">opposing fast-track authorization for the TPP</a>. That means they want a full debate on the entire agreement, not the quick up-or-down vote that has allowed bad deals like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93Colombia_Free_Trade_Agreement" rel="nofollow">US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement</a> to be ratified.<br /><br />Jim Hoffa wrote in the <em><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-p-hoffa/lawmakers-increasingly-re_b_4270072.html" rel="nofollow">Huffington Post</a></em> this week:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Fast track is an attack on democracy. Americans have been kept out of the loop on how the TPP will affect their everyday lives. The last thing we need is for politicians to fast-track a Pacific trade deal through Congress that allows them to build in secret provisions that help their campaign contributors, but hurt working- and middle-class families. </blockquote>The death of union members like Oscar in Colombia is every reason for bringing the TPP into the light of day. In the meantime, workers need to hold governments accountable when they allow unionists to be assassinated with impunity. Nestlé workers in Colombia should enjoy the same rights that <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/08/woo-hoo-another-teamster-organizing_25.html">Nestlé Teamsters</a> enjoy here in the U.S.!<br /><br />You can <a href="http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=800" rel="nofollow">sign the petition here</a> to tell the Colombian government to bring Oscar’s murderers to justice and provide security to other SINALTRAINAL members who remain at risk.<br /><br />¡Oscar presente!

Amnesty International anti-union violence Colombia fast track human rights nestle TPP Vietnam Another murdered Colombian trade unionist – brought to you by “free” trade

Oscar López TriviñoMeet Oscar López Triviño. He’s the latest victim of so-called free trade.On November 9 Oscar was shot dead by paramilitaries in the Colombian city of Bugalagrande. Why? Because Oscar was a union member.Several days before his murde…

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Something’s fishy with the TPP

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">TPP is an abbreviation for the much-maligned Trans-Pacific Partnership. But it also works as shorthand for Terrible Policy for Pescatarians and is equally apt.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/trading-away-our-safe-seafood/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Capitol Hill panel looking at seafood and the TPP</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> raised serious concerns about what a flood of fish coming in from the 11 other nations involved in negotiations of the trade pact would mean both for consumers and industry workers. Lawmakers and experts said the livelihoods of fishermen and the health of the American public could be at stake.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mitch Jones, Food and Water Watch’s director of the common resources program who moderated the program, said as it stands the U.S. can’t keep up with imported fish:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2010 the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] had 92 full time equivalent border inspectors, which means that in that year each border inspector was responsible for inspecting 56.5 million pounds of seafood. No wonder less than 2 percent of our seafood is actually inspected before being allowed into the country and sold in our stores.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In an effort to stop the soaring importation of unsafe fish, lawmakers and experts agreed it is </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/help-derail-fast-tracking-of-TPP.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">key to stop fast track</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, which would allow a quick up-or-down vote on the TPP with little demand and no chance to amend the deal. Having Congress fully consider the agreement would not only help consumers’ health, it would protect hard-working Americans in many different industries.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reps. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) and Walter Jones (N.C.), who hosted the briefing, were joined by Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.) on a </span><a href="http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/11/members-of-congress-ask-obama-administration-to-ensure-seafood-safety-in-trade-negotiation/#.UjMrA2zD_cs" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">letter sent to the Obama administration last year asking that public health be a key focus</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> of negotiators during TPP discussions. Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature of the pact’s negotiations, the public doesn’t know where things stand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As talks between trade negotiators begin to wind down, the Obama administration and Congress need to carefully weigh any deal. While Americans are for open markets, that doesn’t mean they want to trade good U.S. jobs and safe products made here for lost jobs, lower wages and foods that make their families sick. They demand fair trade.</span></div>

fair trade fast track food safety TPP Something’s fishy with the TPP

TPP is an abbreviation for the much-maligned Trans-Pacific Partnership. But it also works as shorthand for Terrible Policy for Pescatarians and is equally apt. A Capitol Hill panel looking at seafood and the TPP raised serious concerns about what a…

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TPP needs a full debate, not a rubber stamp

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Congress returns to Washington next month and it will have the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on its agenda. Top-level trade officials from </span><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130822/japan-11-countries-start-19th-tpp-free-trade-talks-bru" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the U.S. and 11 other countries began their last full-fledged negotiations in Brunei yesterday</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and the effects could be disastrous for American workers.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before lawmakers vote on the trade pact, however, they will consider whether to rubber stamp the TPP and give it a quick up-or-down vote with little debate and no chance to amend it. Fast-track authority, as it is called, </span><a href="http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FastTrackFactsheet.pdf" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is a violation of Congress’ constitutional responsibility</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to fully vet any trade deal. It would keep the anti-worker TPP a secret until it is too late. Fast track must be stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Not all countries negotiating the TPP are rushing ahead with approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-304872/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just this week, Malaysia announced that it was putting the brakes on the agreement</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so it could study it further. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry said:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Cabinet is of the view that Malaysia should not be bound by any fixed time line with regard to the TPPA.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> A novel idea! Shouldn’t our lawmakers be doing the same, especially when American jobs, food safety, our environment and Internet freedom are at stake? Given the potential impact of the TPP, more review is needed, not less.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No one is against trade; we’re just against unfair trade. We’ve seen enough lost jobs, shuttered plants and hollowed-out communities. It’s time to rebuild the middle class, not tear it down, and that means trade deals that benefit working Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> U.S. families deserve better. That’s why it’s so important <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that we let our elected officials know they must stick up for their constituents above corporations. Fast track has to be derailed. The TPP needs to be fully hashed out by lawmakers, not just by multinational corporations.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tell your lawmakers to put the brakes on fast tracking the TPP. To contact your members of Congress, go to </span><a href="http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50740/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8906"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50740/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8906</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Let them know regular people demand to be part of the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>

fast track Malaysia TPP TPP needs a full debate, not a rubber stamp

Congress returns to Washington next month and it will have the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on its agenda. Top-level trade officials from the U.S. and 11 other countries began their last full-fledged negotiations in Brunei yesterday and the effect…

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Union members lead Minnesota anti-TPP march

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqYPmBjC4OmF8E7tJfA_uAtK2kBMUQ4I7vWkcwdi0zlfFaag4KivgYU6eLbNOOzm2cT0RAoMDuNAnT8vCUj_7kv8KEJvp1_MdM7BNAAzlLDLtwOBCebUYtmlj9_GTOw1aNYKd3DTHpQ0V/s1600/8-20tpprally4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqYPmBjC4OmF8E7tJfA_uAtK2kBMUQ4I7vWkcwdi0zlfFaag4KivgYU6eLbNOOzm2cT0RAoMDuNAnT8vCUj_7kv8KEJvp1_MdM7BNAAzlLDLtwOBCebUYtmlj9_GTOw1aNYKd3DTHpQ0V/s400/8-20tpprally4.jpg" title="Hundreds of union members marched through downtown Minneapolis to protest the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Union members took to the street in Minneapolis to protest the TPP.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About 200 Teamsters and other union members <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://advocate.stpaulunions.org/2013/08/20/cwa-delegates-lead-march-against-trans-pacific-partnership/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">marched against the  corporate-dominated Trans-Pacific Partnership</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (TPP) during a protest in downtown Minneapolis <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>yesterday afternoon. They targeted companies involved in negotiations over the secret Pacific Rim trade pact and said the deal’s details should be public.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Demonstrators </span><a href="https://twitter.com/TakeActionMN" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">gathered outside offices of telecom giant Verizon as well as U.S. Bank</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. They pointed red foam fingers at the businesses to question why they have access to TPP documents when the rest of the nation – including members of Congress – do not. They also heard about why the proposed agreement is a bad deal for U.S. workers from Rep. Keith Ellison, union leaders and activists.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Several speakers demanded that workers have a seat at the table so they can share their concerns about TPP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And the crowd, engaging in chants, agreed:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Secrets, secrets are no fun! TPP hurts everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The march, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CWAUnion" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">organized by the Communications Workers of America (CWA)</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, was especially timely as TPP supporters are lobbying Congress to rubber stamp the secret deal through “fast track authority.” Protesters railed against fast track, which would allow Congress to take a quick up-or-down vote on the TPP and for which, debate would be <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>limited <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and amendments would be barred. Fast track would keep the deal shrouded in secrecy from the public until it is too late. By approving fast track, Congress would be abrogating its constitutional requirement to review all trade deals before they are approved. CWA President Larry Cohen said we can’t allow that to happen:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We need fair trade, not fast track. We have to say this to the White House, loud and clear.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No one disagrees that, in an increasingly global economy, America should expand its trade with other countries so we can create jobs for American workers and maintain our global leadership. What we disagree on are the terms of trade, which need to be fair and promote a living wage for workers. It is something U.S. trade representatives should focus on as <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130819-704151.html" rel="nofollow">they resume TPP trade negotiations in Brunei</a> later this week.</span></div>

fast track Teamsters TPP Union members lead Minnesota anti-TPP march

Union members took to the street in Minneapolis to protest the TPP.About 200 Teamsters and other union members  marched against the  corporate-dominated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during a protest in downtown Minneapolis  yesterday afternoon. Th…

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