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News and Updates
free trade
December 16, 2010
UFCW Statement on the Proposed U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement
Washington DC – The recently announced proposed U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement represents a small, but not insignificant, step forward on U.S. global trade agreements.
UFCW and its members would like to recognize Ambassador Ron Kirk and his team for the improvements they negotiated to the Bush agreement of 2007. In particular, the Administration insisted on meaningful changes in the automobile sector that will help American autoworkers and manufacturers achieve a more level playing field. Also, academics estimate that the Korean agreement will create over 20,000 jobs in the U.S meat export producing sectors that employ hundreds of thousands of UFCW members.
All U.S. global trade agreements should seek primarily to assure that the U.S. remains a leader on fair global trade, to restore manufacturing, and to get American workers back on the job. This proposed agreement makes improvements on each of those fronts. Looking ahead, we must work for a fairer global trade structure that benefits workers as much as business.
November 5, 2008
McCain Trades Away America
Washington, D.C. – As Senator John McCain tries to portray himself as a candidate who cares about America’s working class, his trip to Colombia and Mexico this week to highlight his support for “free trade” is another indication of how out of touch he is to the economic plight of America’s workers and their families.
Senator McCain has borrowed from the Bush Administration’s playbook of supporting trade agreements that have devastated the economy and sent good, middle class jobs overseas. He has consistently voted for unfair trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and supported China’s entry into the World Trade Organization despite its ongoing history of human rights and workers’ rights violations. To add insult to injury, he also voted against measures intended to help stem the flow of jobs lost due to these agreements.
These unfair trade agreements have resulted in the loss of high-wage jobs across the manufacturing sector and damaged our country’s long-standing reputation for technical innovation. NAFTA has contributed to the loss of approximately three million high-wage manufacturing jobs in the United States since 1994, and the loss of high-wage manufacturing jobs to China has forced many Americans to work for substandard wages and benefits—further endangering our country’s economic stability and security.
America’s workers cannot afford four more years of a leader who favors corporate interests over the well being of America’s middle class. The 2008 election provides us with an opportunity to elect a leader who will be tougher in demanding a fair trade system that puts America’s workers first. The UFCW will continue to fight for trade reform by mobilizing its 1.3 million members to ensure that Senator Barack Obama becomes the next president of the United States.