October 25th from 2:00pm-3:00pm
121 Cannon House Office Building
[ AFL-CIO| October 10, 2016]
International trade and migration are fundamental and interrelated components of globalization that have the potential to improve the lives of working families. For far too long, however, trade and immigration policies have prioritized corporate interests over good jobs and worker rights.
Since the implementation of the NAFTA in 1994, corporate-driven free trade agreements have undermined workers’ bargaining power, disrupted rural economies, and displaced whole communities in developing countries. Millions of workers have been driven from their homes and families, often undertaking difficult journeys in search of work abroad, where their status is precarious and they are likely to face abuse, exploitation and discrimination.
Now politicians and corporations seek to repeat the failed policies of the past by implementing the TPP, a massive trade deal between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. The TPP would repeat and expand economic rules that destabilize communities, perpetuate low wages and undermine labor rights—all of which are factors driving forced migration.
The TPP broadly fails migrant workers in three ways: (1) It would displace working people and contribute to forced migration; (2) Its labor provisions would not adequately address ongoing violations of migrants’ human and labor rights; and (3) It would further empower corporate and investor interests potentially undermining efforts to win immigration reform and strong labor laws. Although the TPP puts all the downside risk on the most vulnerable, saving its strongest protections for global corporations, it doesn’t have to be this way. Different trade rules could promote commerce while advancing the working poor and building shared prosperity.
This briefing will feature testimony from community and labor leaders, and immigration and trade policy experts. Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public and media are invited to attend this important briefing. For any questions, please contact Charlie Fanning at [email protected].
Read the new AFL-CIO report on this topic: “Trading Away Migrant Rights: How the TPP Would Fuel Displacement and Fail Migrant Workers.”
