News

The Obama administration and Congress moved a step closer toward completing the long-delayed Colombia Free Trade Agreement last week by beginning informal discussions on implementing language, but at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, a top administration trade official studiously avoided giving any date for submitting the agreement for ratification.

The Obama administration has not given labor groups an opportunity to review the documents that Colombia submitted last month to show it met an initial set of commitments under a labor action plan meant to pave the way for a vote on the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement in Congress, sources said.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Tuesday that his labor federation will likely score lawmakers' votes on three pending trade deals that the Obama administration is backing.

FROM: Bill Bates, CWA National Telecom Director

Emphasizing the accelerated growth of high-speed broadband and other benefits for consumers and workers, CWA President Larry Cohen testified Wednesday on Capitol Hill in support of the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile.