'The Hardworking Families of the AFL-CIO Will Join with Our Allies to Defeat the TPP,' says Trumka
Source: AFL-CIO
Jackie Tortora
After the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was released, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made the following statement:
After six long years, the secrecy is over. The public finally has a chance to scrutinize the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for themselves instead of having to rely on characterizations made by the agreements supporters. Americas voters can now make their own judgment about whether it meets their high standards for a 21st century agreement that will raise wages, protect our democracy and promote sustainable growth and development.
From what we have reviewed so far, we are deeply disappointed that our policy recommendations and those of our trade reform allies in the environmental, consumer, public health, global development and business sectors were largely ignored. The investment rules still provide expansive new legal rights and powers to foreign businesses to challenge legitimate government actions, the labor enforcement provisions are still inadequate to address the enormous challenges posed by this deal and the lack of enforceable currency rules subject to trade sanctions mean the promised new export markets may never materialize.
We will be examining the text line by line in the coming days to understand the deal's full implications for working people in every sector from manufacturing and agriculture to public and private services. But from what we have already seen, it is clear that the threats of this expansive new agreement outweigh its benefitsfor good jobs, for democracy, for affordable medicines, for consumer safety and for the environment. The hardworking families of the AFL-CIO will join with our allies to defeat the TPP.
Read more: http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/The-Hardworking-Families-of-the-AFL-CIO-Will-Join-with-Our-Allies-to-Defeat-the-TPP-says-Trumka
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think
(11,641 posts)Kip Humphrey
(4,753 posts)studying the text in order to reach a reasoned assessment.
Actually, I don't expect any such thing.
lark
(23,158 posts)Many here are completely ignoring this very important bit of information. It's the personality over policy people and they are entirely wrong about this.
stillwaiting
(3,795 posts)SOME wealthy Democrats care just as much for their investment portfolio ultimately growing as large as possible (at whatever cost to many other Americans) as Republicans do.
They are economic conservatives, and they are nasty to be so selfish when considering where our country currently is in a historical context (after what's happened the past 4 decades). I do hold them in contempt to some degree, but that should be understandable. It's a reaction to seeing how they EXPLICITLY hold so many working class Americans in contempt. They mock and ridicule progressive working class Democrats as fiercely as any Tea Partier would. I have no idea how they feel about wealthy progressives that support Bernie Sanders. I imagine they despise them as well.
lark
(23,158 posts)Corporo-Dinos.
However, even a Corporo-Dino is better than any Repug that is currently in office. All the moderates or non-crazies have been eliminated from that party.
fasttense
(17,301 posts)Though with the help of Obama, and all his "free" trade agreements and bailouts and tax cuts for the rich, they have managed to destroy most of the American Unions. Some semblance still remains and they are still fighting for working men and women everywhere.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Not that it hasn't been obvious for more than a year to anyone who is awake....
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)The company said...but the products will still be made in "North America".
Uh huh...great.
And just wait until TPP...but our products will still be made on Earth.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)ChiciB1
(15,435 posts)finally speaking out!
Phlem
(6,323 posts)why support the lady who helped write it?
Babel_17
(5,400 posts)Mine's on the endangered list, though through years of prudent management, and thanks to President Obama getting some stimulus passed, we look like we've turned the corner. We hopefully have survived the era wherein pension funds had to devour their investments so as to pay retirees. Having the markets rebound doesn't undo that.
Other pension funds didn't come through as well, and haven't been able to return their funds to being able to sustain promised benefits. It's heart breaking.