May 1, 2016 is the 130th anniversary from the declaration by the Federation of Organized Labor, that the legal work day would be 8 hours. May Day is an international workers day, where the global working class is honored, and where we remember those who fought and died so that their children and grandchildren would eventually have a path to security.  Thanks to our predecessors who fought, you and I have come to accept the 40 hour work week, Saturday and Sunday as a weekend, safe working conditions, regular breaks, and no children in the workplace.  

Fast-forward to 2016 and the fight for international worker rights, against the modern day robber barons and their current neoliberal tool, free trade deals like the TPP.  

Our special guest speaker this May Day will be Celeste Drake, Trade and Globalization Policy Specialist with the AFL-CIO. Celeste will sum up the recent report by the AFL-CIO:

A Gold Standard for Workers? The State of Labor Rights in TPP Countries.  

Read the report here:   http://www.aflcio.org/content/download/174525/4153892/file/1628_TPPLaborRightsReport.pdf

Is the TPP the gold standard touted by the Obama administration, or, as in past free trade deals, are global labor rights more aspirational than enforceable? Does the TPP, as proponents say, strengthen acceptable minimum wages, occupational safety and health standards? Does the TPP bar forced and child labor or is the language merely window dressing in countries like Viet Nam and Malaysia where child and slave labor is common and are enforcement mechanisms nonexistent in the TPP?

Please join us as Celeste Drake lays out the black and white and grey areas of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.  

Also joining us will be Dr. Margaret Flowers, Co-Director, Popular Resistance and FlushTheTPP.org, to update on Mid-May actions and the plan for #NoLameDuck campaign pledge and actions during the Lame Duck session, the huge collaborative March for a Clean Energy Revolution taking place in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention July 24th, and much more. So reserve your seating for the Trade Justice Alliance interactive webinar by signing up now!

Please join us,

Harriet Heywood and the rest of the Trade Justice Alliance Team