Labor, environmental groups oppose fast track trade authority

Labor and environmental groups held a press conference Monday morning across from the General Electric plant to urge Rep. Baron Hill (D-9th) to vote against proposed fast track legislation, which would give more authority to presidents to negotiate trade agreements. \nA coalition of mostly labor and environmental organizations twice defeated fast track legislation during the Clinton administration. This week, they are launching television advertisements and a letter writing campaign to convince Hill and other undecided members of Congress to vote against H.R. 3005, the "Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act."\nKen Zeller, president of the Indiana American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, said despite the tragedy of the Sept. 11 attacks some are are pushing a controversial fast track bill.\nOpponents say fast track trading authority lacks adequate worker and environmental protections because it opens the door for trade agreements made without input from Congress until its hands are tied after the negotiations. \n"Congress speaks for the people," Zeller said. "To take their voice away takes our voice away."\nJeff Vincent of Jobs with Justice said workers should be a part of the decision.\n"We have labor standards in this country that took years to get adopted," he said.\nAmerican labor organizations believe countries with the worst human rights, labor and environmental records will have an unfair advantage when negotiating for a new factory, at which companies can mistreat workers and pay them much less than American workers require.\n"Multinational corporations have no loyalty to their country," Robert Pedersen of the Indiana Alliance for Democracy said. "They seek absolute advantage of which nations have the worst human rights record and are the most tyrannical." \nOpponents of the legislation say they believe fair economic trade, with adequate worker and environmental standards, is essential. But they reject attempts to pass legislation granting the president almost sole authority over the details of trade agreements. \n"Under fast track, congress could only vote up or down on a trade agreement negotiated by the president," Zeller said. "It doesn\'t have protections for workers and the environment."\nPresident George W. Bush and fast track proponents want to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement to 31 additional countries. \nOrganized labor continues to oppose NAFTA, which they say has cost American workers 700,000 manufacturing jobs, including 31,000 in Indiana in its seven year existence. \nMonday\'s letter to Hill, which is signed by 15 labor, farm, environmental and religious groups in Indiana, says, "We have seen over 700,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs lost to NAFTA while $5 a day\nMexican workers toil in these relocated factories, a soaring new NAFTA trade deficit, collapsing farm income in all three NAFTA countries, and a series of food safety and environmental problems,"\nSince Fast Track expired in 1994, the U.S. has negotiated hundreds of trade agreements.\n"If we\'re going to have a trade bill, it must have safeguards for workers and the environment," Joshua Martin of the American Lands Alliance said. "What we\'re trying to promote is fair trade."\nOpponents urged the public to contact members of Congress this week to express concerns on the Fast Track bill.\n"We cannot simply lay down and let these things go on," said Bill Hayden of the Sierra Club. "We want to urge Congressman Hill to think twice about this and not to make the same mistake of some of his predecessors in voting for WTO"