It's Time To Stop Fast Track!
As you probably know, Fast Track, or Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is expected to begin moving in Congress this month.
That is why we are joining with labor and community partners for #StopFastTrack events statewide in March to highlight those officials who stand with us and ask those on the fence to take a stand with workers!
The TPP is a massive, so-called “free trade” agreement currently being pushed by big corporations and negotiated behind closed doors by the United States and 11 other countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Under Fast Track, legislators cede their authority to have a say in agreements. Fast Track forces Congress to take an up or down vote with no ability to amend. The result: no trade deal has ever been defeated under fast track procedures no matter how bad it is for wages, jobs, small business and the environment.
The stakes are high. Trade policies adopted under Fast Track have cost the United States more than 1 million jobs and contributed to the shuttering of more than 60,000 factories. It is imperative that all New Yorkers speak with one voice and call on Congress to say no to Fast Track.
Fast Track benefits companies from foreign nations that may have no labor standards, no environmental standards and too often no respect for basic human rights. It is imperative that a thorough debate and airing of these issues be a part of any trade negotiations and Fast Track will limit the ability of Congress to do just that.