March 5, 2010:NWLP
3/2/10
10:17 AM
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Page 2
Rep. Schrader opposes TRADE Act; wants U.S.
to hurry free trade agreement with South Korea
Oregon’s 5th District Congressman
Kurt Schrader told the Northwest Ore-
gon Labor Council Executive Board
Feb. 22 that he doesn’t support a bill
aimed at reforming U.S. trade policy,
and that he wants the United States to
quickly sign a free trade deal with
South Korea.
During his first term in Congress,
the veterinarian and former state sena-
tor from Canby has compiled an in-
terim Committee on Political Educa-
tion (COPE) voting record of 94
percent, based on 17 worker-related is-
sued tracked by the national AFL-CIO.
None of the bills tracked dealt with
trade.
Asked about Rep. Michael
Michaud’s (D-Maine) Trade Reform,
Accountability, Development and Em-
ployment (TRADE) Act, which would
create a new U.S. trade agreement
model that benefits America’s workers,
consumers, farmers, and businesses,
Schrader said he would “have a tough
time getting there (supporting it), the
way it is worded.” He didn’t indicate
the specific language in the bill that
bothered him, although he did point out
that he supports inclusion of environ-
mental and labor standards in any and
all free trade deals.
A total of 134 members of Congress
have cosponsored the TRADE Act.
Piedmont Post Office dedicated
in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Portland Post Office’s Piedmont Station was dedicated in honor of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. during a special ceremony Feb. 17, attended by Congress-
man Earl Blumenauer.
The renaming of the facility at 630 NE Killingsworth St., Portland, was the re-
sult of a community effort led by Branch 82 Letter Carriers Jamie Partridge and
Isham Harris. In 2007, Partridge and Harris collected employee signatures sup-
porting the renaming, as well as letters of support from the Piedmont and Con-
cordia neighborhood associations, and the Sabin Community Association. They
presented the petition to Blumenauer, who drafted legislation to rename the facil-
ity, which is required by law. After some delays, the bill was passed — with sup-
port of every member of the Oregon delegation in both the House and the Senate
— and signed into law by President Barack Obama on Nov. 30, 2009.
The Feb. 17 ceremony was highlighted by the unveiling of a plaque officially
naming the facility in Dr. King’s honor.
PAGE 2
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
The bill also has strong support from
organized labor.
The TRADE Act establishes a
process for the Government Accounta-
bility Office (GAO) to review existing
trade agreements; sets criteria for what
must be included in future trade agree-
ments, such as bans on Buy American
provisions and new rights and privi-
leges for foreign investors; and re-
asserts congressional authority in the
trade policymaking process. Issues
covered by the legislation include labor
rights, the environment, food safety,
human rights, financial regulation, na-
tional security and more.
Schrader went on to say that the
U.S. needs to quickly ratify a trade deal
with South Korea, “because if China
beats us to it, we’ll be in a world of
hurt.”
He said the U.S. needs to export
more goods in order to ramp up the
economy. “The federal government is
tapped out on what it can spend, and
it’s unlikely the American consumer
will come back and buy and spend the
way they used to. This means a longer
and slower recovery,” he said.
Schrader said at this juncture he is
opposed to the Colombia Free Trade
Agreement, and is undecided on the
Panama FTA.
At the NOLC Executive Board
meeting, Schrader listened to a variety
of labor concerns and ideas, including
revising the Pension Protection Act of
2006, maintaining six-day delivery of
the mail, and using stimulus dollars to
replace aging fleets of mail trucks in
Portland with U.S.-made electric mail
trucks.
Schrader is facing a challenger in
the Democratic primary in May and, if
victorious, will have Republican oppo-
sition in November’s general election.
Stat of the Month
Between 1992 and 2007, notes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay
Johnston, the bottom 90 percent of Americans saw their incomes inch up by 13
percent, in 2009 dollars. Incomes for the top 400, over the same years, soared
399 percent.
MARCH 5, 2010