Attention Pennsylvania Teamsters: General President Jim Hoffa is going to lead a Working Class Convoy for Change from Scranton to Pittsburgh, stopping by a number of union work sites to give members the opportunity to talk face-to-face with their president and learn more about the issues that shaped the Teamsters' endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama before the April 22 Democratic primary. Find out where and when.
Eyes on Trade:
New(ish)
Intelligence on
Trade
When Congress is in
recess, it's always a
good time to catch up on
some of the academic and
think-tank writings on
globalization.
Eyes on Trade: Santa's Sweatshops Were Made in D.C.
Just in time for the holidays, Public Citizen released a
new report that explores the root causes of the current imported toy safety
scare, stemming from the U.S. toy corporations’ push to boost profits at the
expense of our children’s safety.
Eyes on Trade: Senate Dems Join GOP to Approve Another NAFTA Expansion
Although not one U.S. labor, environmental, Latino,
consumer, faith or family farm group supported the Peru FTA, a majority of
Senate Democrats dismissed widespread public opposition to more-of-the-same
trade policy and joined Republicans to deliver another Bush NAFTA expansion
to the large corporations pushing this deal.
Peru FTA: The Show's Not Over Yet
Fair Traders Whipping Opposition to NAFTA Expansion
There's a lot of big news as we approach this week's expected vote on the Peru Free Trade Agreement—the first of the secretly-crafted, lobbyist-written agreements that expands the job-killing, wage-destroying NAFTA trade model into South America. Review what's going on and use this tool to contact your representatives and ask them to vote "no" on the NAFTA expansion.
Bush Threatens to Veto Aid to Workers Harmed by Outsourcing
If ever there was ironclad proof that this administration is waging a war on the middle class, this is it.
Deregulation + Free Trade = Danger
The Bush administration is aggressively fighting a proposal by Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor to strengthen the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). A new report shows the frightening results of our government's decision to underfund the CPSC at the same time both parties have helped pass more and more trade deals that have encouraged a glut of imports. We are, in short, reducing our ability to protect ourselves right when we need to protect ourselves more.
Working for Change: Edwards Move Makes Trade '08 Centerpiece
A Financial Times story summarizes John Edwards' (D) announcement that he is opposing not only the Peru Free Trade Agreement, but the entire package of White House-backed deals designed to expand the job-killing, wage-destroying NAFTA trade model into South America and Asia, begins David Sirota in this blog entry.
CHINA TRADE POLICY
Hoffa Says U.S.-China Trade Policy Undercuts Middle Class, National Security
On July 25, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa told a Senate panel that U.S. trade policy is strangling democracy in China, national security in the United States and the middle class in both countries.
Links related to the union's stance on China's trade policy:
In China, Hoffa Calls for Inclusion of Labor Rights in U.S., China 'Economic Dialogue', May 20
