Workers Putting Heat on Congress to Stop Oman Trade Deal

by James Parks, Jul 20, 2006

The House could take up the Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA) as early as today, and workers across the country are making it clear to their representatives that they don’t want another bad trade deal.

Yesterday, we reported that corporate lobbyists are aggressively targeting the 15 Democrats who last year backed the corporate-written Central American Free Trade Agreement. They also are targeting members of the New Democratic Coalition—the group of Democrats most closely affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council.

Todd Iverson, a co-founder of America in Solidarity, an activist group of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 23 in Tacoma, Wash., let us know about a protest union members are holding today from noon to 1 p.m. outside the Tacoma office of Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.), one of the 15 Democrats:

Dicks is one of the CAFTA 15 (the 15 Democrats that voted with the Republican majority in voting for CAFTA). Dicks is not the only member of Congress that claims to be for working families but is either likely to vote for this deal or has yet to make a decision. While this issue has slipped under most people’s radar it is another trade agreement that will undermine working families in this country and abroad.

The Senate approved the latest, bad Bush administration trade deal last month by 60–34. A coalition that includes the AFL-CIO and more than 350 labor, religious, consumer, farm and environmental groups opposes the Bush administration-negotiated OFTA because it lacks strong and enforceable labor and environmental standards and likely will cost jobs in the United States and lower living standards for workers in Oman.

No matter where you are, there’s still time to stop this bad deal. Take action and call your representative through the U.S. Capitol switchboard, 1-202-224-3121, and tell her or him to vote “No” on the Oman Free Trade Agreement.

Tell your representative:

• Oman bans independent labor unions and has been cited by the U.S. State Department for human trafficking and forced labor.
• The OFTA gives foreign corporations more rights than U.S. citizens because it allows any company incorporated in Oman to sue the U.S. government in a secret tribunal, demanding payment from our tax dollars, if the company feels that any U.S. government policy is restricting their ability to make profit.
• OFTA could undermine U.S. national security by promoting rights for foreign companies, including government-owned companies, to operate our
  sensitive infrastructure such as electricity grids, port operations and more.

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