Action Alert: Tell the House to Vote NO on Fast Track!

On May 22nd, the Senate voted to approve Trade Promotion Authority, a trade bill commonly known as "Fast Track". In the coming weeks, the House will now consider this bill - but its passage if far from certain.

 

Advocates like you have made a big difference in taking a stand for just trade practices. As a result of your calls, emails and letters, many of "Fast Track's" potential side effects have been exposed. Concerns over currency manipulation and human rights violations were discussed on the Senate floor, and the debate left many representatives questioning if there truly were any benefits of a "Fast Track" bill.

"Fast Track" is an undemocratic legislative procedure that will serve to usher in major trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with limited debate an no amendments. The TPP has been negotiated almost entirely in secret with no transparency or accountability. And, what we have gathered from leaked documents  is troubling. If the TPP passes, it would rewrite the rules for health, labor, the environment and food standards. While corporations will stand to benefit, the average citizen will not.

 

Contact your representative in Congress now and tell them to vote NO on the upcoming "Fast Track" vote. Join the National Call-In Day to unite with other advocates and let our message be heard!

 

Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Director of the Office of Public Witness, has said the following on the upcoming vote in congress:

 

"The Senate vote to pass "Fast Track" is a commitment to continue a broken trading system. The door is open for more corporate lobbying and secret negotiating that fosters prosperity for corporate interest over public interest. We have witnessed this in the negotiations of flawed trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, through "Fast Track", stands to threaten labor, health, and environmental regulations. As a community of justice-seekers, the Presbyterian Church (USA) will not remain silent while the greater good remains under duress. We urge our representatives in the House to vote down “Fast Track” at this critical point in time."

 

Call your representative today: tell them to vote NO on Fast Track!

 

 

To learn more about Fast Track and the TPP, join our office in partnership with the Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment for a webinar! Speakers will provide an update on upcoming actions in DC, and offer simple ways to be an advocate in your home town! Follow the Office of Public Witness on Facebook for upcoming registration information.

Webinar: A Faithful Response to Fast Track

June 10^th 12pm (EST)/ 9am (PST)

Ecclesio.com Conversation on Money in Politics: Buying a Seat at the Negotiating Table: Money and Trade Agreements

This week, May 18-22, Leslie Woods, Representative for Domestic Poverty and Environmental Issues in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness, is guest-hosting a conversation on money in politics on Ecclesio.com. Today's article is written by OPW Young Adult Volunteer Jenny Hyde, looking at the way corporations and private money influences international trade.

The United States is currently in the midst of negotiating two major trade deals. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would seek to build new bridges with Asia-Pacific economies, and an E.U.-U.S. agreement, commonly known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would expand the U.S.’ trading relationship with Europe. The Obama Administration has publicly announced its hope to secure both deals before elections in 2016.

Together, the TPP and TTIP stand to affect a massive portion of the global economy. The TPP alone is predicted to impact approximately 46 percent of the global GDP.  While the White House has hailed the TPP as being the “most progressive trade agreement in history” – one intrinsic element is certainly not progressive: the pervasive influence of money at the negotiating table.

When trade agreements are put into effect, they have a direct impact on the livelihood of individuals residing inside trading nations. As an economic mechanism, trade can be used to grow and expand economies around the world.  Over the years, however, trade agreements have grown from simply covering tariffs, to rewriting the rules for environmental, health, and labor regulations. Therefore, it is fundamentally important that potential trade agreements reflect the interests of a state, and its economic sector. In order to synthesize the construction of trade agreements in the U.S., advisory committees meet to determine what terms of trade would best suit public welfare. These committees report to Administration officials who then proceed in international negotiations.

According to a noteworthy piece published by the Washington Post, of the 566 members on advisory committees, private industry and trade groups make up a combined 85 percent of voices at the table. The other 15 percent of voices represent small clusters of academics, labor groups, government agents and NGOs. The balance between civil society groups, and the interests of private corporations is seemingly non-existent in this make-up.

Moreover, the TPP has received a great amount of criticism for its lack of transparency. While the 566 advisory committee members receive access to the text, the public at large is kept out of the loop. What little knowledge that has been released on the agreement is the result of WikiLeaks, despite a multitude of requests from politicians and civil society groups demanding otherwise. Several years of negotiations later, the TPP still remains under a veil of secrecy.

What can be witnessed through the TPP, however, is an evolution of society’s understanding of trade. As the private sector has managed to gain greater access to government decision making processes, trade has gone from being viewed as a public good, to a business transaction made among wealthy people and multi-national corporations. And as a result of this normative shift, we now see feedback on trade agreements from civil society groups all too often labeled as an inconvenience for decision makers.  In pursuit of streamlining the trade negotiating process, corporations have been invited to the table, while everyday folks are left out of discussions.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of many strong voices against the TPP, has questioned the validity of such secrecy in light of the trade deal’s major impending repercussions. The Senator reflects, “If the American people would be opposed to a trade agreement if they saw it, then that agreement should not become the law of the United States.” While corporations are able to protect their interests under the current system, other voices have been devalued. As we are repeatedly seeing in the U.S. today, the divide between rich and poor threatens the pursuit of equal representation in our society.

Concern over this lack of input is quite justified, as major trade deals of the past have wreacked havoc on both developed and developing economies. NAFTA and CAFTA for example, both of which contain many parallels to the TPP and TTIP, have earned reputations for their negative externalities. Jobs in the US have moved overseas, while push factors for migration have increased. The treatment of workers and the environment in developing countries have become secondary interests to the pursuit of profits, and as a result, tragic headlines have repeatedly topped news cycles. With no promise of evaluating trading partners based on their human rights records, or tangible enforcement mechanism upholding standards for livelihood in economies different from our own, current terms of trade may no longer be in the public’s best interest.

How, then, do we avoid mistakes of the past, and seek to reclaim trade as an empowering economic tool? The answer may be as simple as giving trade back to the people it impacts. The problem persists, however, that there is little incentive to change the predominant trend of neoliberal decision making. Neoliberalism, since the 1980′s, can be defined as extensive economic liberalization to enhance the role of the private sector in our the economy. Within neoliberalism, deregulation incentivizes profit-makers to further exploit both people and the earth because they have much to gain and little to lose.

A resource from Share the World states, “The crucial first step towards reclaiming democratic power is therefore to curb the influence of corporations on policy making at the local, national and global levels.” As a society, we need to reclaim our role as citizens actively invested in the impacts of trade legislation. Not only this, but we need to advocate on behalf of poor and marginalized people, both among us and overseas. The voices that are not privileged enough to be heard are often those who are the most  adversely impacted. In Washington D.C. and elsewhere, the faith community has sought to make the negotiating table open for all, and it is important that it continue to do so as the TPP and TTIP move forward.

While the task of separating money and trade is a daunting one, our faith calls us to a task greater than ourselves. In the model for community we see outlined in scripture, no one is exploited or neglected for another’s personal gain. Let it be so as we seek trade justice, and seek to reclaim trade agreements as instruments of peace, made to uphold the beauty of all of God’s creation.

A seat at the table should not be bought by power or influence, but earned because of the inherent dignity of each person on earth.

Jenny Hyde graduated from Gordon College in Massachusetts, where she received her degree in International Affairs. She hopes to pursue a career in economic development, with a particular interest in post-communist contexts.  Jenny currently serves as a Young Adult Volunteer at the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, in Washington, DC, working primarily on issues related to trade justice.

See more at: http://www.ecclesio.com/2015/05/buying-a-seat-at-the-negotiating-table-money-and-trade-agreements-jenny-hyde/#sthash.Mvvh9evr.dpuf

Join Us for a Webinar on Trade Justice!

Webinar: Building an Economy of Inclusion Through Fair Trade
Tuesday, January 20th, 3:00-4:00pm (EST)

Join the Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment for a webinar just hours before the President’s State of the Union Address to get a sneak peek at what President Obama will say about his 2015 trade agenda and what role the new Congress will play. Hear how corporate interests influence trade agreements and harm the lives of our partners on the ground in developing countries. Faith advocates will leave with ideas on how they can help build an economy of inclusion through education and action in 2015. Register here: http://bit.ly/1DMTmDD

Past trade agreements carry unwanted consequences, such as displacement of rural farmers in the Global South, the off-shoring of jobs from the U.S. in exchange for dangerous, low wage jobs abroad, and increased environmental degradation from mining and other extractive industries. With November’s elections behind us, our elected officials are poised to tackle trade issues with renewed fervor in the New Year. With several deals on the table, 2015 has the potential to shape the global economic landscape for years to come.

Register here: http://bit.ly/1DMTmDD to learn how to ensure trade justice for God’s people in 2015.

Renco, a U.S.-owned lead smeltering plant in Peru, caused high lead levels in children. Now Renco hopes to recover lost profits under the Peruvian-US trade agreement.  Photo courtesy of Rev. Jed Koball..

Presenters:

Lori Wallach- Public Citizen Global Trade Watch

Rev. Jed Koball - Presbyterian Hunger Program, Joining Hands in Peru
Catherine Gordon – Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness (Moderator)

Sponsored by the Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment 

Join us for Second Tuesday - Sept. 11

Please join us for the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness Second Tuesday Briefing on September 11, 2012.  

  

Location:             Office of Public Witness, PC(USA)

                             100 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 410

                             Washington DC  20002

Date:                    Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Time:                    10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon, lunch to follow

Topics:

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.          “The Next Free Trade Agreement: The Trans-Pacific Partnership”

Speaker:         Jessa Boehner

                        International Program Associate,

                        Global Trade Watch,

                                                Public Citizen

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon        “What gain have the workers from their toil?

                                                 Labor Issues, Denominational and Congregational Life”

                         Speaker:        Michael E. Livingston

National Director of Public Policy,

                                                                Director of the Washington Office,

Interfaith Worker Justice

                                                                                               

 Please RSVP to ga_washington_office [@] pcusa.org so that we can have an accurate count for space and lunch.   All are welcome, and we look forward to your joining us for lunch afterwards.  Thank you for your faithful witness.

If Over 150 CEOs Had Been Assassinated in Colombia Over the Past 3 Years, Would You Still Think It a Safe Place for Investment?

Read Representative James McGovern's (D-MA) most recent Dear Colleague Letter against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).  Click here to call your own Representative and ask him/her to vote NO on this agreement that will lead to human rights violations, poverty, and death.

If Over 150 CEOs Had Been Assassinated in Colombia Over the Past 3 Years

Would You Still Think It a Safe Place for Investment?

Dear Colleague,

            That’s how many labor leaders and activists were targeted and murdered in Colombia, according to the annual reports of the International Trade Union Confederation.  Each year, the number of trade unionists assassinated in Colombia has equaled or surpassed the total number of such murders in the rest of the world combined.  That’s why Colombia remains #1 as the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. 

           
               And 2011 is no different.  So far, this year, 17 labor activists have been murdered, as documented by the National Labor School (ENS/Escuela Nacional Sindical) based in Medellín.   These are real people – not just statistics.  They were teachers and workers in factories and farms.  We should care about their lives and their deaths.

               I support the measures outlined in the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan (LAP) – but they don’t go far enough and it’s a plan that rewards intentions, not results.  Congress should demand that the increased protections called for under the LAP actually result in protecting and reducing the violence against trade unionists before the U.S.-Colombia FTA is debated.  Congress should require that Colombian workers are able to organize, speak freely and negotiate directly with their employers – without fear of violence and death aimed at them and their families – before taking up the FTA for debate and approval.

         
               Please take a look at the names of the 17 labor activists murdered so far this year in Colombia.  Remember that they had families, children, friends, neighbors and colleagues.  Remember the 150 trade unionists targeted and assassinated over the past three years.  Demand that conditions change and improve on the ground in Colombia before the House takes up the Colombia FTA for consideration.

Sincerely,

James P. McGovern

Member of Congress

Colombian Unionists Killed January 1 – June 21, 2011 (ENS):

1.     Alejandro José Peñata López, teacher and member of the Asociación de Maestros de Córdoba – ADEMACOR (teachers’ association of Córdoba), affiliated to the CUT, was murdered on June 20.   After he disappeared after leaving school, his body was found with signs of torture.  He had been hanged with barbed wire.                          

2.     Margarita de las Salas Bacca, judge on the Sixth Circuit Labor Courtand member of the Asonal Judicial union, was killed in Barranquilla on June 9, 2011, after leaving the courthouse.  She was survived by her husband and daughter.

3.     Jorge Eliecer de los Rios (pictured left), teacher, environmental campaigner, and member of the Ser union, killed June 8, 2011 in Pereira, Risaralda department.  He was shot several times from a motorbike while on his school’s campus.  A leading member of the Meedrua non-governmental organization, he had led a campaign to expose the damage wreaked by an open air mine belonging to multinationals.

4.     Carlos Julio Gómez, teacher and member of the Sutev union, shot and killed May 29, 2011 in Cali, Valle department.  

5.     Freddy Antonio Cuadrado Nuñez, teacher and member of the Edumagunion, killed May 27, 2011 in Cienaga, Magdalena department. He was shot in the head and killed as he celebrated his 46^th birthday.

6.     Carlos Arturo Castro Casas, 41, engineer, member of the Sintraemcali union, and father of three, shot in the neck by two armed men and killed May 23, 2011 in Cali, Valle department.

7.     Juan Carlos Chagüi Cueter, prison guard and member of the Sigginpec union, killed May 15, 2011 in Barranquilla, Atlántico department.

8.     Dionis Alfredo Sierra Vergara, elementary school teacher and member of the Ademacor union, killed May 15, 2011 in La Apartada, Córdoba department.

9.     Luci Ricardo Florez, 28, teacher and member of the Ademacor union, shot by armed men on motorbikes and killed May 3, 2011 in Ayapel, Córdoba department as she was walking home with her mother.

10.  Antonio Ramiro Muñoz Sánchez, member of the Asotmem union, killed April 8, 2011 in Puerto Boyacá, Boyacá department.  According to witnesses, he was shot repeatedly by two men riding a motorbike as he was leaving a union meeting. According to Justice for Colombia, the union had been organizing workers and the local community to demand that oil companies hire local labor.

11.  Héctor Orozco, 35, father of three and Vice-President of the Astracatol union, killed March 30, 2011 in Chaparral, Tolima department.  In the days before he died, Orozco had reported to the local office of the Reiniciar human rights non-governmental organization that he and several other persons had been threatened by an army officer named John Jairo Velez. 

12.  Hernán Yesid Pinto Rincón (pictured left), member of the CGT union and Founder and member of the national board of the new farmers’ organization, killed March 19, 2011 in Tibacuy, Cundinamarca department.  Before his death, he had taken the lead in the struggle of farm workers.

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13.  Carlos Alberto Ayala Moreno, member of the Asepunion and Director of the Caucasia Rural Education Institute, killed February 5, 2011 in Puerto Asís, Putumayo department.  He was shot and killed by gunmen as he left his home.

14.  Humberto de Jesús Espinoza Díaz, teacher in the Mistrato Agricultural Institute and member of the Ser union, shot and killed by armed men in January 30, 2011 in Mistrató, Risaralda department.

15.  Jairo Enrique Veloza Martínez, 35, member of the Sigginpec union, shot three times in the head by gunman and killed January 27, 2011 in Bogotá, Cundinamarca department.

16.  Silverio Antonio Sanchez(pictured left), 37, member of the union Ser, killed on January 24, 2011, from an intentional explosion which caused burns to 80% of his body on December of 2010.

17.  Manuel Esteban Tejada, teacher and member of the Ademacor union, shot and killed in his home by armed men on January 10, 2011 in Planeta Rica, Córdoba department.

And Who is My Neighbor? The PC(USA)’s Call for Justice in International Economic Policy and Trade

OPW Summer Fellow Ginna Irby addresses the OPW’s policy, action, and theological concerns surrounding trade justice, specifically focusing on the pending Free Trade Agreement with Colombia.