The Trans Pacific Partnership: A Fast Track to Lost Jobs and Lower Wages

(The Progressive) The Obama White House and GOP congressional leaders are teaming up to “fast track” the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress. Obama is partnering with Republicans to pull another NAFTA on workers even as the Democratic base and progressives vigorously oppose fast track authority for the latest “free trade” deal.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka says politicians and corporate bosses want you to think global trade, Trans Pacific Partnership, and fast-track authority are just too complicated for working people to understand. Turns out it’s pretty damned simple.

“I understand it,” Trumka says, “ Let me tell ya. Here’s what it means. It means lost jobs and lower wages. That’s it. Lost jobs and lower wages.”

Public Citizens Global Trade Watch agrees. They say in “one fell swoop” the TPP could:

◦ offshore American jobs and increase income inequality;

◦ jack up the cost of medicines;

◦ sneak in threats to Internet freedom, and empower corporations to attack our environmental and health safeguards;

◦ expose the U.S. to unsafe food and products;

◦ roll back Wall Street reforms;

◦ ban Buy American policies needed to create green jobs.

“The progressive movement could not be more united, more focused, more committed to holding our leaders accountable for the actions they take in Washington than we are right now in the fight against Fast Track authority for the TPP,” said Neil Sroka, communications director for Democracy for America, a million-member national progressive political organization. “The fact is, you can be a progressive committed to fighting for working families or you can be for this massive job-killing trade deal written by hundreds of corporate representatives, but you can’t be both. And, if you stand with the wrong side in this fight, the progressive base of the Democratic Party stands ready to hold you accountable at the ballot box.” ...............(more)

- See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/04/188098/trans-pacific-partnership-fast-track-lost-jobs-and-lower-wages#sthash.yOrhAiDi.dpuf