Members of Congress, Home for Recess, Face Calls to Reject Fast Track for TPP

CWA activists and our coalition partners across the nation have one message for members of Congress back home on recess: Vote No on Fast Track Authority for trade deals.

In Texas, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman met with executives of cosmetics giant Mary Kay, then he and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX 30th Congressional District) met with about 30 representatives from unions, greens, civil rights and consumer groups to hear concerns about the Fast Track trade bill and the TPP. At first, Froman refused to meet with more than four representatives, but he agreed when the group insisted he meet with all or none of them.

The delegation led by CWA District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings urged Rep. Johnson, who is undecided, to reject Fast Track Authority because to vote for it would be abdication of her constitutional responsibility to examine and amend trade deals, including the TPP.

A trade deal that includes countries like Vietnam and Brunei, Cummings said, can only put downward pressure on wages in the U.S. Fast Track can only pull the wool over the eyes of lawmakers before they even get a chance to see what's in the TPP.

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Protesters posed uncomfortable questions for Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO, 2nd Congressional District) about his perch on the fence about the bad Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bill and the attempt to ram it through Congress with Fast Track Authority. Boulder radio and television stations and the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper covered the rally at his office.

"The secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership is an impending disaster for the American economy. With TPP, tens of thousands of American jobs will be sent overseas, even in greater numbers than previous failed so-called trade agreements," CWA Colorado Political Director Dave Felice said.

RELATED:

• http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_27547480/protesters-urge-boulders-polis-oppose-trans-pacific-partnership
• http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-02-18/social-justice/critics-to-colorado-congressman-no-fast-track-for-trade-deal/a44625-1
• http://news.kgnu.org/2015/02/boulder-activists-urge-congressman-polis-to-vote-against-the-tpp/

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Protesters gathered outside the Springfield, MA, Federal Building on State Street to support a "no" vote by Congressman Richard Neal on a bill to Fast Track trade legislation, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

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The Washington State opposition to Fast Track for the TPP took the form of a coalition bus tour to Mount Vernon and Tacoma as people stood up for working families, the environment and ensuring people have a fair opportunity to make a good living in the United States.

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In Yonkers, NY, activities included a People's Town Hall to air out opposition to Fast Track for trade deals and talked about the potentially disastrous effects of the TPP on the U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel sent staff to read a statement of support for the actions against Fast Track.

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In Sacramento, Calif., CWAers and allies Alliance for Democracy; College Democrats, Sacramento State; SEIU Local 1000 Environmental Committee; Sierra Club; Citizens Trade Campaign; Democratic Veterans Club of Sacramento; Democratic Party of Sacramento County; Sacramento Central Labor Council; American Postal Workers Union; and Food & Water Watch held a town hall where they called on U.S. Reps. Bera and Matsui to oppose Fast Track and the TPP.