June 23, 2015
President Perrone: “Passage of Fast Track is a Historic Bipartisan Failure”
Washington, D.C. — Today, Marc Perrone, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the largest private sector union in the nation, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate invoking cloture on and moving towards passage of Trade Promotion Authority, also known as Fast Track.
“The passage of fast track is a historic bipartisan failure the American people will never forget. Instead of passing laws that will help create jobs and raise incomes, the President, along with many Republicans and Democrats, have proved that they have no regard for the concerns of hard-working men and women who will now lose their jobs or struggle to earn a good income.
“The President, and those members of Congress who voted for this legislation, must now live with the consequences of their actions. While they may choose to diminish our concerns, the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will feed a spiral of despair of lower wages, lost jobs, and increased income inequality. History has proved this right, and sadly, it will prove it once again.
“The brutal truth is that the President and the Members of Congress who voted for Fast Track will not be the ones who pay the economic price of another bad trade deal; they will be fine. It is the countless number of workers who will wake up in the years ahead and realize the good job they had is gone, and the only choice they have now is to work at Walmart or McDonalds where they will barely make enough to survive.
“So, let me be very clear, we, and the American people will hold those Members of Congress, especially congressional leaders, who voted for Fast Track, and who may vote for TPP, accountable. We will not forget this vote. We will expose, when the details are finally made public, the terrible impact that TPP will have on this nation. Above all, we will make sure that our 1.3 million members and their families know exactly who stood up for hard-working families and who did not.”
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