Stop Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal

On MSNBC's The Ed Show, CWA President Larry Cohen spotlighted how service sector jobs, as well as manufacturing jobs, will be sent overseas if the Trans-Pacific Partnership is approved.

"How do we expect to revive an economy if we send those kinds of jobs out of this country? No other nation does it. Only this country is doing it. That's not growth," he said.

Watch the full interview here.

Congress is currently considering "fast track" authority, which means that the trade deal can't be changed by lawmakers; only a "yes or no" vote on the entire package would be permitted. Authorization for fast track expired in 2007, and must be renewed by Congress.

So far, 146 Democrats have signed on to a letter authored by Reps. Rosa DeLauro and George Miller to be sent to President Obama expressing concerns about the secretive TPP negotiations and stressing that they will oppose fast track authorization if Congress has no role in the negotiation and approval process. "The United States cannot afford another trade agreement that replicates the mistakes of the past. We can and must do better," they wrote.

The signers added that "we are deeply committed to transforming U.S. trade policy into a tool for creating and retaining family-wage jobs in America, safeguarding the environment, maintaining consumer protection and improving the quality of life throughout the country."

Go to http://www.cwa-union.org/no-tpp for more information and to take action. Call your lawmakers. Tell them to oppose fast track authority for the TPP.

Dial 1-888-966-9836 for the House of Representatives.
Dial 1-877-795-7862 for the Senate.