PAGE 8 | July 15, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
...Flushing the TPP
From Page 1
Unions have made defeating
the TPP a top priority. At the
Nelsons’ suggestion, Local 290
paid for “Stop the TPP” hardhat
stickers. Union reps distributed
the stickers to members at Intel
and other job sites.
The TPP would bind the
United States to a bloc of 11
other Pacific Rim nations, in-
cluding Japan and New Zealand,
but also human rights abusers
like Malaysia, the Sultanate of
Brunei, and Vietnam. But don’t
call it free trade. Farmers markets
like the one at Esther Short Park
are free trade. Deals like the TPP
are the opposite: They’re really
about getting other countries to
give corporations longer govern-
ment-enforced monopolies on
drug patents, copyrights and
trademarks. And they’re about
giving investors special rights,
like the right of foreign investors
to sue governments in special
trade tribunals if new laws re-
duce their expected profits.
The TPP was negotiated in
NALC food drive
sets new record
Responding to the needs of the
hungry, Americans set a new
record by donating 80 million
pounds of food to the National
Association of Letter Carriers’
(NALC) annual Stamp Out
Hunger Food Drive.
The food drive’s old dona-
tion record was 77 million
pounds.
In Oregon and Southwest
Washington, Letter Carriers col-
lected 970,000 pounds of food,
which actually is lower than nor-
mal.
The food is distributed to lo-
cal food banks, soup kitchens,
pantries and other enterprises
that feed the needy. Many of
those enterprises had exhausted
the food they had collected dur-
ing the winter, said NALC Pres-
ident Fredric Rolando.
Federal data show that one of
every seven U.S. residents—50
million people—go to bed hun-
gry each day.
Preliminary collections data
show that eight NALC branches
collected more than 1 million
pounds of food each. Tops on
the list was Branch 1091 in Or-
lando, Florida. The 1,613-mem-
ber local collected 2.233 million
pounds of food.
secret, and its backers would like
to ratify it in secret as well — in
the lame duck session of Con-
gress after this November’s elec-
tion. But the TPP has become
politically toxic. With both
Hillary Clinton and Donald
Trump opposed to it, the agree-
ment will be considered dead on
arrival if it’s not passed before
January.
The Nelsons blame NAFTA-
style trade agreements for send-
ing good jobs overseas, and they
say the TPP — NAFTA times
four — will only make it worse.
The United States hasn’t had a
trade surplus in over 40 years —
since 1975. Last year, the United
States trade deficit was just over
$500 billion. That means the
United States imported $500 bil-
lion more in goods and services
than it exported.
“The TPP is the further de-
struction of this country,” says
Linda Nelson. “To me it’s like
the nail in the coffin.”
2016 SW Washington Central
Labor Council Endorsements
These are the 2016 primary election endorsements of the SW WASHINGTON CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL and
the WASHINGTON STATE LABOR COUNCIL, AFL-CIO. Mail ballots are out for the Aug. 2, 2016 primary election.
U.S. HOUSE
STATE LEGISLATURE
CLARK COUNTY
Commissioner Dist 3:
Tanisha Harris
STATEWIDE
Commissioner Dist 4:
Roman Battan
BALLOT MEASURES
The deadline to register online or by mail
has passed, but you may register in per-
son at your county elections department
through July 25, 2016.
July 15
Start of 18-day voting period. Ballots are
mailed out and Accessible Voting Units
are available at voting centers.
Your ballot must be:
Postmarked no later than Election Day,
Aug. 2; or returned to a designated ballot
drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day; or
returned in person to your county elec-
tions department by 8 p.m. on Election
Day.
JUDICIAL
(Paid for and authorized by the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council.)