United team: Local 8 member Creg Carse, casual Nichole Bosler-Lenhart, members Matt Theisen and Barry Price joined
a Portland protest against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on March 9th. The latest free trade deal is being promoted by
corporations and their friends in Congress. ILWU convention delegates voted to oppose the TPP in 2012, and members have
participated in many protests since.
ILWU members in Portland joined other union and community activists on March 9 to protest the latest “free trade” agreement, called the “Trans-Pacific Partnership” (TPP). Corporate interests are trying to ram the deal through Congress using a process known as “Fast Track” – the same tactic used to streamline passage of the NAFTA with Mexico and subsequent deals with Colombia and Korea.
Fast Track farce
To pass the controversial “free trade” deal, corporate-friendly legislators are proposing the Fast Track maneuver that was originally created during the Nixon-era to expand Presidential powers and weaken Congressional oversight of international agreements. While the U.S. Constitution gives Congress authority over trade legislation, and it makes sense to delegate some power to the President to negotiate new deals, it makes no sense to allow the President to do so in secret, without any accountability for meeting negotiating goals set by Congress.
Under Fast Track, Congress must limit debate to just 90 days and then conduct a simple majority, “yes” or “no” vote without allowing any changes or amendments. Corporate goodies Like NAFTA, the TPP is being sold with claims that it will expand trade, create jobs and include “labor and environmental protections” in order to win votes from Congressional Democrats. But unions say these claims amount to little more than window dressing, and fail to address all of the corporate deals concealed inside the secret pact. These include generous patent and intellectual property protections that generally benefit the 1% at the expense of everyone else, especially the working class.
Keeping secrets
The actual TPP agreement is cloaked in secrecy. Even members of Congress who wish to view the text are required to read it in a secure room, are not allowed to take notes, and cannot bring a staffer with them. The secure room is filled with “experts” from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office – the agency responsible for negotiating and promoting the agreement.
Threat to U.S. laws
The TPP includes provisions for bypassing national sovereignty –allowing U.S. laws to be challenged by corporations who claim our laws amount to unfair trade barriers. This can be used to file claims against environmental protection laws, “Buy American” contract preferences, and public investment programs to promote new energy and transportation industries. Such claims would be reviewed by a three person binding arbitration panel. The ramification is that a multi-national corporation could sue for damages if they believe a U.S. law is cutting into their profit margin.
Money & politics
Corporations hoping to benefit from the TPP have been making campaign donations to Senate and House members in order to influence votes on the trade pact. As with previous “free trade” agreements, this deal has exposed a fault-line in Congress that pits corporate- friendly Republicans and Democrats against progressives and labor allies. Groups outside Congress that oppose Fast Track include National Nurses United, the Sierra Club, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Citizen and the AFL-CIO. Leading proponents include anti-union business lobbies such as the National Retail Federation, Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers.
Friends & foes
Last year, 152 House Democrats, including James Clyburn (the third most powerful Democrat in the House) and former California representative George Miller signed letters opposing fast track. Senate minority leader Harry Reid has independently expressed his opposition to Fast Track. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi has avoided taking a clear position, in the same way she did before backing NAFTA in 1993, but she recently expressed concerns about Fast Track when speaking to members of the Steelworkers Union.
Pelosi’s second-ranking House Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, also claims to be “undecided” but tipped his hand in late January by declaring that Fast Track could pass despite opposition from many fellow Democrats.
He went on to assert that previous free trade deals have been “good for the country and for workers.” Former Clinton Labor Secretary and NAFTA booster Robert Reich has flipped sides and now opposes Fast Track and the TPP, which he calls a “corporate Trojan horse.” And two famous Nobel Prize-winning economists, Paul Krugman and Joseph Stieglitz, recently announced their opposition, as did prominent free trade economist Jeffrey Sachs.
ILWU Opposes TPP
At the 35th International Convention of the ILWU in 2012, delegates passed a resolution opposing the TPP, and this resolution continues to guide ILWU policy.
Horrors in Colombia
The passage of the Colombian Free Trade agreement in 2012 has been devastating for longshoremen in that South American nation. Public docks have been privatized and union workers bypassed. Labor provisions in the free trade agreement were supposed to protect workers’ rights, but have proven ineffective. Assassinations, death threats and anti-worker paramilitaries continue to operate in Colombia with impunity. Port operators have bypassed the union in favor of hiring directly off the street. Workers have been forced to live inside containers on the docks when they aren’t needed to load or unload vessels.
Union members who resist these abuses have been blacklisted and union officials are receiving death threats. Some longshoremen have been forced to sign letters promising that they won’t join the union.
More nightmares?
The proposed TPP provides a “docking mechanism” that allows additional nations to join after the deal is enacted. Vietnam is of particular concern because it is illegal in that country to form an independent union, and persons who do so can be imprisoned. Similar concerns could apply to other nations, including Burma – renamed “Myanmar” by the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1962 to 2011.
What we can do
To help stop Fast Track and the TPP, call your Senators and Representatives by dialing 855-712-8441 and let them know:
• The TPP is bad for America.
• Fast Track authority should be opposed.
• You will not re-elect any politician who sells out workers and our country.
Many members of Congress are already doing the right thing by opposing Fast Track and the TPP, such as U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio. More grassroots pressure can help others make the same choice. An injury to one is an injury to all.
– Matt Theisen, Local 8