ILWU members joined other unions and community groups on July 2 to protest the latest “free trade” agreement that’s being quietly negotiated between the US government, Pacific Rim countries and corporate lobbyists.
The “Trans-Pacific Partnership,” or TPP, is similar to the NAFTA agreement with Mexico that promoted the aims of Wall Street and big business at the expense of workers and the environment. ILWU convention delegates passed a resolution opposing the TPP in June, 2012.
“Corporate lobbyists wanted these talks in San Diego to be a secret, so we decided to ‘blow the whistle’ and help expose what’s happening,” said Cathy Familathe, President of the ILWU’s Southern California District Council who joined Local 56 President Ilugardo Mendoza, Local 29 President Jerry Shipman and other ILWU members at a protest held outside the trade talks. Familathe noted that the ILWU has opposed “free trade” agreements because they benefit big business at the expense of workers and the environment, beginning with the NAFTA Agreement initiated by George H.W. Bush and finished by Bill Clinton in 1994 – up to the latest free trade deal with Colombia which was initiated by George W. Bush and concluded by Barack Obama in 2011.
All the agreements offered token concessions to labor, environmental and human rights groups – while protecting big business from meaningful labor lawsand regulations. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement was signed despite the ongoing murder of thousands of Colombian trade unionists during the last decade.
“Workers deserve a seat at the table whenever jobs are at stake,” said Jerry Shipman who managed to secure a seat inside the talks that were otherwise closed to the public except for a limited number of observers who were allowed inside. Shipman says he was able to talk with one of the trade officials inside who listened to the ILWU’s concern about corporations investing abroad to take advantage of lower labor and environmental standards.