NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | April 17, 2015 | PAGE 5
Avakian urges Congress to nix TPP trade deal
ing to have much attention on
what they’re doing, and then
they can be ‘shocked’ to learn
that this agreement is like the
past seven agreements that have
the very same chapters.”
Ed Hill, international presi-
dent of the IBEW, talked about a
legal provision in the proposed
TPP called the “Investor-State
Dispute Settlement.” ISDS is a
process in which foreign in-
vestors can sue governments in
special tribunals comprised of
trade lawyers if new regulations
reduce expected profits.
“We’re talking about labor
laws, health and safety regula-
tions, even wage and hour laws,”
he said.
Hill pointed to a French multi-
national corporation that re-
cently brought a case against the
government of Egypt, challeng-
ing that country’s decision to
raise its minimum wage. In an-
other case, a major British cor-
poration sued the Indian govern-
ment for changing its tax laws.
“Don’t think it can’t happen
here. It can, and it will,” he said.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Trea-
surer Liz Shuler urged union
members and allies to keep the
pressure on Wyden and Ore-
gon’s congressional delegation.
“We’re close,” she said.
In conclusion, Shuler said
that if the TPP was such a good
deal for the American people,
“why is it being negotiated in
secret?”
Panel at AFL-CIO-sponsored
event says fast track trade deal
is a power grab by large corpora-
tions and should be stopped by
Congress
By Michael Gutwig
Editor & Manager
Calling it “the single biggest
threat to job opportunity in our
country right now,” Oregon La-
bor Commissioner Brad Avakian
urged Congress to reject the pro-
posed Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) free trade agreement.
Avakian was part of a com-
munity panel discussion on
trade policies April 9 sponsored
by the Oregon AFL-CIO. Sev-
eral hundred people attended.
Also on the docket were na-
tional AFL-CIO Secretary-Trea-
surer Liz Shuler; International
Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers (IBEW) President Ed Hill;
Mary King, labor economist at
Portland State University; Marty
Hart-Landsberg of Lewis &
Clark College; Barbara Dudley
of the Working Families Party;
and Elizabeth Swager of the
Oregon Fair Trade Campaign.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-
OR) was invited to speak, but he
declined due to other commit-
ments. Wyden is the key nego-
tiator for U.S. Senate Democrats
on fast track, also referred to as
trade promotion authority. He
will make or break the decision
to hold a fast track vote.
Fast track is legislation that
would make it easier for Con-
gress to pass the TPP—a secret
agreement being negotiated with
11 other Pacific Rim nations.
Under fast track, after a deal is
presented, Congress must hold
an up-or-down vote within 90
days with limited debate and no
ammendments on a document
with several thousand pages.
“Fast track itself is really a
non-starter. Everybody needs to
oppose fast track,” said Avakian,
questioning how anyone could
“Oregon has lost over,
and over, and over again
under free trade agree-
ments. And I’m telling
you now, we certainly
cannot afford another
one,”t.”
— Oregon
Labor Commissioner
Brad Avakian
TOP PHOTO: Oregon Labor Com-
missioner Brad Avakian (third
from right) waits his turn to speak
at a community discussion on fast
track and the Trans-Pacific Part-
nership. Avakian said the pro-
posed free trade deal is the single
biggest threat to job opportunity
in our country.”
PHOTO RIGHT: National AFL-CIO
Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler
(right), chats with Rose Etta Vene-
tucci, president of IATSE Local 28.
support expediting the process
on a treaty that’s been negotiated
in secret, with no oversight, with
no public purpose behind it, “but
with the clear purpose to simply
benefit wealthy corporate inter-
ests.”
He said the North American
Free Trade Agreement already
has stripped over 8,200 living
wage jobs from Oregon, and that
agreements with China and Ko-
rea have cost the state 62,000
jobs—six million manufacturing
jobs nationwide.
“Oregon has lost over and
over and over again under free
trade agreements. And I’m
telling you now, we certainly
cannot afford another one,”
Avakian said.
Economics professor Marty
Hart-Landsberg said the Ameri-
can public is being lied to about
the nature of the TPP and other
trade agreements.
“The fact is, the government
... doesn’t have the slightest idea
of what this agreement will do in
terms of our GDP, or employ-
ment. What it knows is—it will
greatly effect corporate profits
and power, and that is what it
cares about. The rest is all sales-
manship.”
Hart-Landsberg said the U.S.
has a history with trade agree-
ments “and they’ve been harm-
ful.” Trade deals, he continued,
“are mostly about other things
—though trade is a little part of
it.”
“The government knows that
the more people know about
these agreements, the more
they’re going to be against them.
So they want to fast track them.
They want a procedure that will
allow a quick vote. And most
politicians like that, because they
know if they vote for something
that everyone knows is bad,
they’re going to be in trouble. So
they would rather get the corpo-
rate money, and take it, and have
a fast track so no one’s really go-
Stop Fast Track rallies slated
in four Oregon cities April 18
Workers are stepping up the
pressure on U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden (D-Oregon) and mem-
bers of Congress to stop Fast
Track for the Trans-Pacific Part-
nership (TPP).
Organize labor and several of
its allies will host rallies Satur-
day, April 18, in Portland, Eu-
gene, Bend, and Medford.
In Portland, protesters will
gather at Terry Schrunk Plaza
starting at 1 p.m. The Plaza is lo-
cated between Southwest Third
Avenue and Fourth Avenue on
Madison Street downtown.
The rally in Eugene begins at
2 p.m. at 7th and Washington
Street downtown.
In Bend, rallygoers will
gather at 2 p.m. at Brandis
Square, located on the corner of
Wall Street and Newport Street
downtown.
In Medford, protesters will
meet at 2 p.m. at Vogel Plaza
downtown.
All union members are asked
to contact Sen. Wyden and urge
him to oppose fast tracking the
TPP. He can be reached at 1-
866-828-4162.
Sponsors of the anti-fast track
rally include the Oregon AFL-
CIO, United Food and Commer-
cial Workers Local 555, the
Northwest Oregon Labor Coun-
cil, Working Families Party,
Sierra Club, Jobs with Justice,
Causa, VOZ Workers Rights
Education Project, and the
Northwest Treeplanters and
Farmworkers United (also
known as PCUN).
For more information, go to
www.oraflcio.org/4-18/ .