Activists need to be cautious of groups like the AFL-CIO. While the video is excellent, their ask is merely to include language protecting workers. This has proven to be insufficient in previous trade agreements as there is no enforcement. Just look at Colombia, where workers are suffering as a result of trade. The goal of the TPP is corporate power, cheap labor and no restrictions to protect the planet. The TPP needs to be stopped, not reformed. Urge the AFL-CIO to stop the TPP, don’t compromise.
This could be the beginning of the classic division of the movement. As was described in the Stratfor strategy to defeat political movements, their goal is to isolate those who want real change (they call us radicals) and strengthen those who want to work within the system for what is “realistic.” The reality is, the only realistic way to put people and planet ahead of profits is to scrap the TPP and start over with a transparent process that includes all stakeholders, not just transnational corporate advisers.
We don’t want groups aligned with the Democratic Party and President Obama to compromise and accept language that sounds good but is meaningless. We need solidarity to flush the TPP and start over with a goal of fair trade that puts people and planet before profits in a transparent and inclusive process.
AFL-CIO SAYS: DON’T LET CORPORATIONS HIJACK ANOTHER TRADE DEAL
Corporations are trying to manipulate the Trans-Pacific Partnership—a free trade agreement being negotiated right now that would be bigger than NAFTA—to increase their power over the global economy, so they have a say in everything from your rights at work to the prices of your prescriptions and the safety of your child’s toys.
Watch the video below to learn more and share it with your friends. Then send an email to trade representatives for all the countries involved to tell them to create a trade agreement that works for working families.