PAGE 10 | May 15, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Fast track filibustered!
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
Majority oppose fast track
O
regon has been consumed by the fight
against the Trans-Pacific Partnership
since January. This fight is a testament to a
united labor movement.
At February’s Executive Committee meet-
ing of the National AFL-CIO, international
labor leaders pledged to stand united against
the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and against
granting Fast Track Authority to President
Obama.
It was not a surprising move, considering
that some in our labor movement were apa-
thetic towards the passage of the North Amer-
ica Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 21 years
ago. After two decades of jobs being Amer-
ica’s largest export, we now understand that
free trade agreements cut deeply in all sec-
tors—both public and private. We know that
America’s workers actually earn less money
today than before the passage of NAFTA. We
know that free trade agreements undermine
the sovereignty of our state and nation. And
we know that free trade agreements have little
enforcement power, thereby undermining en-
vironmental and labor standards.
I could go on, but like the vast majority of
Oregonians, chances are you already oppose
unbalanced trade deals. In fact, the last polling
in Oregon’s 1st Congressional District reveals
that 53 percent of voters oppose giving Fast
Track Authority to the president.
Congresswoman Bonamici, I hope you are
listening.
All across America, the labor movement
has drawn a line in the sand. We’ve spoken
out at town halls, held rallies, marches and
picket lines. Oregon’s unions and allies at-
tended town halls in Medford, Bend and Port-
land.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called
for a “National Day of Action” against the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and our united labor
movement responded, with over 1,000 people
attending rallies in Coos Bay, Medford, Bend,
Eugene, Salem and Portland on April 18.
The Oregon AFL-CIO took to the airwaves
by raising funds to launch a radio campaign,
which has been supplemented by the National
AFL-CIO’s television and internet advertise-
ments.
On May 7, President Obama attended a
fundraiser at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown
Portland and over 400 Oregonians showed up
to make our voices heard. We were loud, de-
fiant, and our message was clear: No Fast
Track. No Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Media from across the state and the coun-
try reported on our demonstrations.
On May 8, President Obama spoke at Nike
headquarters near Beaverton, where he was
greeted by nearly 100 demonstrators outside
the gates.
Obama is one of the most gifted speakers
in our nation’s history. He charmed the crowd
and the television audience. The president’s
hypnotic description of trade painted a picture
that stands in stark contrast of two decades of
trade gone wrong. Over and over he asked
Oregon to just trust him; that this free trade
agreement would be different; that it would
be better because he’s learned from the fail-
ures of the past.
I can’t forget Barack Obama as a candi-
date, standing in front of a crowd of 10,000
union members and their families during the
2007 presidential debate, where he promised
that he would pass crucial labor law reform
under the Employee Free Choice Act. A year
later, workers were told to wait until after the
passage of health care reform.
Mr. President: American workers are still
waiting and suffering from an economy that
rewards wealth and punishes hard work. An-
other free trade agreement is not the answer
we’re waiting for.
Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO,
a 120,000-member-strong federation of labor unions.
JAIME RODRIGUEZ
for Hillsboro School Board, Pos. 7
ENDORSED BY: Northwest Oregon Labor Council;
Just as this issue went to press May 12, an effort to pass fast
track failed on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Supporters of fast
track were unable to get the three-fifths supermajority (60 votes)
needed to close off debate and move to a vote. The vote was
52-45 in favor of closing off debate. But some of those voting
to uphold the filibuster—like U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore-
gon)—weren’t doing so because they oppose fast track, but be-
cause the Senate’s Republican leadership was refusing to vote
on another set of trade-related bills at the same time: a customs
bill that would address currency manipulation, a package of
trade preferences for sub-Saharan Africa, and a bill renewing
Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helps workers displaced
by foreign competition.
on
Oreg rs
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