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Unions and Labor Blocked from Fast Track Legislation and the TPP Debate

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, is an outspoken opponent of the


Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an agreement that will cover trade from 12
countries as diverse as Japan, New Zealand and Chile, which amounts to about 40
percent of world trade [MAYBE CLEAR UP A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT
THIS MEANS FOR AMERICAN MANUFACTURING]. Trumka opposes the
deal because he feels it will strips jobs and rights from workers and give foreign
corporations too much influence in domestic policy. Calling it NAFTA on
steroids in a May 18 speech, Trumka argued that saying this agreement is
progressive on labor rights is like saying I own a car that doesnt have any brakes,
but youll like it because its fast.
In concert with other [X] members of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade
Negotiations and Trade Policy (LAC), which serves as labors representative body
on the TPP, Trumka on April 13 authored an Interim Report on the United States
Trade Representative (USTR)s failure to meaningfully engage with labor
unions. His intended audience was members of Congress who were set to vote on
the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. The
bill, more commonly known as fast-track, strips Congress of the authority to
amend or address specific provisions of trade deals for the next six years.
Trumka filed his report more than five weeks beforehand, on April 16 with the
USTR. As an official LAC document, it had to go through the USTR and the
Department of Labor (DOL) before reaching the hands of Congress [WHY DID IT
HAVE TO GO THROUGH THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS?]. However the
USTR delayed [WHY DID THEY DELAY?] and, as a result, no one in the Senate
saw it. On May 22 the Senators passed fast track by 62 to 37, with 14 Democrats
voting in favor.
On June 2, Trumkas office released the 16-page report, 11 pages of which were
entirely redacted by the USTR [DID USTR MAKE ANY COMMENTS ABOUT
THIS?] and the remainder heavily edited and in some places redacted, as well as an
accompanying letter that protested the delay and outlined precisely how it
happened.
<<this is where the place the Scribd document>>

Marc D. 6/3/15 5:17 PM


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Deleted: [PASSIVE has been publicly
outspoken against] he Trans-Pacific ...

[1]

Marc D. 6/4/15 10:39 AM


Comment [1]: Get the number of
signatories/authors on the LAC Interim
Report, and hopefully their names, from AFL-
CIO.
Marc D. 6/3/15 4:33 PM
Deleted:
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...
Deleted: DATEauthored an Interim

[2]

Lauren Gaynor 6/4/15 11:33 AM


Deleted: fast track
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... [3]
Deleted: , 2015with the United States

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...
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16-[4]

Marc D. 6/3/15 4:53 PM


Deleted: . Do we want the accompanying
letter here as well?

The letter details a timeline spanning from the day the report was filed to the day
the Senate passed the fast track legislation, during which the USTR and the DOL
apparently tried to drown the report in bureaucratic procedure and government
ineptitude. According to Trumka, the report intended to serve as a reading guide
to senators and members of Congress to highlight the numerous places in which
the TPP fails to adopt recommended working-family friendly provisions as well
as to persuade the USTR to adopt the LACs recommendations into the trade
agreement.
The DOL explained on May 7three weeks after the initial filing of the Interim
Reportthat it could not be accepted as an LAC document because it hadnt been
created in a way compliant with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA),
which mandates that a document must be discussed at a LAC meeting. The USTR
and DOL said that because of this, they couldnt share the report with Members of
Congress who requested it. However, a letter and annex dated September 3, 2014,
which made up 11 pages of the report, were discussed at an LAC meeting, and the
LAC members asked whether these could be released to Congress.
As of May 22, they [AFL-CIO?] knew the following:
First, the first five pages of the Interim Report could be released publicly only if
edited and redacted as follows:

It cannot be identified as an Interim Report


It cannot be identified as an LAC product
The authors cannot speak for the LAC as a body
They can speak from their experience as members of the LAC
They were asked to redact a particular section of the document

Second, the USTR and DOL failed to review the remaining 11 pages (the letter
and annex). The content of those pages therefore had to be blacked out.
Third, the USTR and DOL did not provide an answer regarding whether any of the
report will be released to Congress
The less-redacted five pages of the report outline a lack of transparency from the
USTR and Obama Administration regarding the TPP; restrictive and silencing
regulations; an unwillingness to hear the LACs advice, requests and demands; and
serious concerns about the trade agreement.

Marc D. 6/3/15 4:54 PM


Deleted: Department of Labor (
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Comment [2]: You can just keep it simple!
I like how straight forward and factual this
section is though. Very informative.
Lauren Gaynor 6/4/15 11:40 AM
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Despite being cleared advisors, the members of the LAC maintain that they are
given outdated informationif anyon which to base their oft-ignored
recommendations. The most recent version of the labor chapter of the TPP
available to all cleared advisors was posted on their secure website on December
15, 2011.
As well, cleared advisors are prevented from disclosing any specific information
[WHO IS PREVENTING THEM FROM TALKING?] about the deal to the public,
meaning that their criticisms can only come off as vague and are unable to combat
the Obama Administrations unsupported promises. However, this undemocratic
neutering of critics is not the only reason to oppose these clandestine practices. In
his speech, Trumka simply pointed out that decisions affecting the livelihoods of
millions of Americans shouldnt be made in secret.
By keeping the public and the publics representatives from members of
Congress to union presidents in the dark about the TPP, the Obama
Administration [MAYBE CONTRAST TRUMKAS STATEMENTS WITH
CLAIMS FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ABOUT THE TPP?] is
secretly creating a deal that appears to only benefits corporate interests. Among
other things, the agreement will allow foreign corporations to sue governments for
regulations that impinge on their profit margin, in the same way that Philip Morris
International is suing Uruguay for tightening its smoking laws.

Lauren Gaynor 6/4/15 11:43 AM


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Marc D. 6/3/15 5:08 PM


Deleted: [TRUMKA QUOTE]
Marc D. 6/3/15 5:14 PM
Deleted: This all contributes to a narrative
of mystry, secrecy and censorship around the
Trans-Pacific agreement. The only way we get
to see anything about the deal is if its leaked
online and to further that aim, WikiLeaks has
promised a $100,000 reward for additional
draft chapters of the TPP.

Through secrecy, incompetence and bureaucracy, the USTR and the


Administration are turning a deaf ear to the American people. Thus, it should come
as no surprise that the five publicly-released pages of the Interim Report on the
TPP conclude that based on the totality of information currently available [] it
will, on balance, have a negative impact on jobs, wages, and other issues important
to Americas working people.
The fast-track legislation that was pushed through the Senate will make
challenging the TPP in Congress much more difficult. Though it passed by a large
margin in the Senate, the bill is facing steeper odds in the House, where it will be
debated this month [WHEN?].

Lauren Gaynor 6/4/15 11:45 AM


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Deleted: HOUSE.

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