Republicans Boycott Trade Hearing Over Inclusion of Help for Workers
Senate Republicans who nearly worship at the feet of free trade agreements—to heck with their devastating impact on U.S. workers—boycotted an opportunity to move the most recent free trade holy trinity of South Korea, Colombia and Panama deals closer to a vote.
The reason? President Obama wants to include in the South Korea free trade agreement some—let’s stress some—help for workers through Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to aid workers who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing, offshoring and unfair trade deals.
Workers? Talking about them would just gum up the works, the Republican lawmakers seemed to say.
So instead of attending a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the three trade deals yesterday where they would have had the opportunity to discuss, debate, argue and yell to their hearts’ content, they boycotted the hearing, forcing its cancellation because without the Republicans the committee didn’t have quorum.
Their twisted logic goes something like this: Having a hearing on trade deals that include TAA denies them the chance to talk about trade deals that include TAA. Or, as they wrote in letter to Obama today, a hearing on trade deals and TAA would: Read the rest of this entry »
White House Says No Trade Deals Until TAA Strengthened
Until Congress acts on renewing an enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA) for workers who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing, offshoring and unfair trade deals, the Obama administration will not submit three pending trade deals to Congress, the White House announced yesterday.
In February, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) refused to hold a vote on extending the TAA. Because of Boehner’s blockade, the TAA program that been strengthened in 2009, reverted back to its 2002 version that covers fewer workers and offers lower benefits and fewer opportunities for displaced workers.
Capitol Hill observers said Boehner and Republicans held the TAA extension hostage to force a commitment from the Obama administration to send three pending trade deals— Korea, Panama and Colombia—to Congress.
The AFL-CIO has long-backed TAA. In February, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it a “lifeline for working people trying to get the skills necessary to change careers after their lives have been turned upside down.”
But the AFL-CIO remains firmly opposed to the Colombia, Korea and Panama free trade agreements.
Tell Boehner: Act on Trade Adjustment Assistance Now
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told tens of thousands of workers that if they lose their jobs because of unfair trade practices tough luck, just pull yourselves up by your Chinese-made bootstraps.
Boehner and his Republican House colleagues refused last week to schedule a vote on extending the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA) for workers who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing, offshoring and unfair trade deals. As a result, the program that for nearly 50 years enjoyed bipartisan support, expired Saturday.
Rather than working to solve our economic problems, Boehner and Republican leaders are determined to pay back corporate CEOs who are offshoring jobs, cutting wages and giving themselves bonuses.
You can deliver a message to Boehner that it is inexcusable and unacceptable that he keeps promoting policies backed by corporate CEOs that encourage outsourcing–yet does nothing for the workers who lose their jobs. Click here. Read the rest of this entry »
New House ‘Workforce’ Committee Highlights Anti-Union Goals
Last week, we highlighted a move by House Republicans who are so incensed at the word “labor”—because some folks might complete the phrase with the word “union”—that they ripped out the word “labor” from the name of the House Education and Labor Committee.
While the re-naming game comes off as childish and petty, a look at what the newly named House Education and Workforce Committee has at the top of its agenda is a serious assault on workers and their unions.
The committee’s revamped website includes a screed against workers, unions and labor laws decked out in rhetoric about defending workplace democracy.
Report: Women Workers the Hidden Casualties of Manufacturing Job Loss
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The media image of the unemployed factory worker is usually male. But the reality is that working women have been hurt as much as men when it comes to manufacturing job loss. The impact is often worse for women because many are single parents.
A new report by the public policy research group Demos shows when women lose manufacturing jobs, they rarely manage to get back into jobs with similar pay or benefits. Public training programs, through the Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) or Workforce Investment Act (WIA), often are inadequate to fill the gap.
The report, “Hidden Casualties: Trade, Employment Loss & Women Workers,” highlights the need for decent training for decent jobs with good wages, career progression and such key supports as child care and paid leave.
Click here to download the report.
