by Richard Knee
Local 39521 VP-California
The U.S. Senate is expected tomorrow to pass the so-called fast-track bill that would sharply reduce Congress’s constitutionally prescribed advise-and-consent role in effecting this country’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other foreign-trade pacts.
As you probably know, the TPP is being negotiated in secret, its terms dictated by the corporate sector.
The Senate voted today to end debate on the fast-track bill. That action took 60 votes, but passage of the legislation itself will require only a simple majority, 51 votes, of the Senate’s membership. Even worse, the Senate’s vote today included the stripping of a provision to make enhanced retraining and education assistance available to people thrown out of work by the TPP and other trade agreements.
The NewsGuild president Bernie Luzner had this to say about today’s procedural maneuver, “Today the people were once again thrown under the bus. Now the people must organize and fight back. It’s no longer a game of Democrat versus Republican. This is now a real fight between those of us who envision an America that works for everyone, and those that think there will always be winners and losers, and that regular workers are losers. I’m taking up that fight. I hope you will join me.” Click here to see the CWA statement on today’s vote.
The only chance we have to beat this back is to generate a groundswell of public protest. So I’m asking you to contact both of your U.S. senators TODAY and urge them to vote NO on the fast-track bill and on the TPP. And remind them that you vote.
And please spread the word on this.
Click here for Richard’s previous piece about the TPP.
