Democrats Introduce New Direction on Trade

A bill that promotes global trade as long as agreements are fairly negotiated and include effective labor, environmental and product safety standards is being introduced by Democrats on Capitol Hill with the support of CWA and other labor unions.

"We're here to play offense," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "We're tired of playing defense."

The TRADE Act calls for a review of all existing trade agreements and provides a process to renegotiate them. The bill includes principles outlining what should be included in future trade agreements, and spells out that the role of Congress in trade policymaking should be strengthened. It will reverse years of trade policy that have elevated capital, financial and property interests above all else, Cohen noted.

CWA President Larry Cohen joins U.S. senators, representatives and other labor leaders on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to speak in support of a new bill that encourages trade deals that are negotiated fairly and include labor, safety and environmental standards.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Representative Michael Michaud (D-Maine) and other TRADE Act sponsors, speaking with Cohen and other labor leaders at a news conference on Wednesday, said the bill should put an end to the myth that Democrats and unions are opposed to trade.

"The TRADE Act will help Congress and the White House craft a trade agreement that benefits workers, business owners and our country," said Brown, who introduced the bill in the Senate. "We want trade, and we want more of it. The TRADE Act is a critical first step."

The bill is formally called the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act.

Cohen said that enforceable labor standards are critical to fair trade, so that companies can't simply abandon the United States or other countries for nations with even weaker workers' rights.

He called the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement a "new low, even for hard-core free traders." Colombia leads the world in denying workers the right to collective bargaining.  Simply by labeling workers as contractors, self-employed, or cooperatives, when these workers are employed by major corporations, Colombia has allowed 85 percent of its 18 million workers to be stripped of any possibility of gaining collective bargaining rights.  "This trend exists in the USA, but in Colombia we see the end point with no corporate responsibility and an extreme disparity between wage earners and the economic elite," he said.

Wednesday's news conference also featured Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Representative Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), and Teamsters President James Hoffa.