On May 10, Democratic leaders in Congress, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, announced a "deal" with the Bush administration to pave the way for more job-killing, NAFTA-like trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea, Peru and Panama. The Democrats claim that this secret deal (they won't release details) includes protections for labor rights and the environment, but the biggest bosses in the country - the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers - have apparently been assured that nothing in the deal would inhibit their appetites for low wages and crushing workers' rights.
Political blogger (and former staffer for Bernie Sanders) David Sirota notes that
this secretive behavior is happening at precisely the same time the Associated Press reports that "Democrats are suddenly balking at the tough lobbying reforms they touted to voters last fall" with many wanting "to keep the big campaign donations and lavish parties that lobbyists put together for them."
To ontact Congressman Welch and Senators Leahy and Sanders and demand that they stand up against this secret trading away of our rights, use Public Citizen's online action center.
For more information, visit:
Grassroots Global Justice
David Sirota's blog
Public Citizen's "Eyes on Trade" blog
No comments:
Post a Comment