Oppose Omnibus Trade Bill

I urge you to contact your Representative in Congress to oppose H.R. 6346, an omnibus trade bill introduced this week by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a California Republican. This bill is a blatant last-minute move by House Republicans to pass legislation designed to hurt America's workers before the new Congress is installed in January.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Please vote NO on H.R. 6346

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to urge you to vote NO on H.R. 6346, Rep. Bill Thomas' Omnibus Trade Bill, which contains several provisions that do not adequately protect the rights of U.S. workers.

* The Omnibus Act would implement a cynically-named "Andean Bridge to a Reciprocal Trade Partnership Act" which contains language designed to force Congress to pass the Colombia and Peru Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) within the first six months of 2007.

The Colombia and Peru Free Trade Agreements should be renegotiated to repair provisions on labor and environmental standards, and to provide access to affordable medicines. The nation of Dubai should be prevented from gaining unreasonable access over sensitive U.S. security points, which will not happen if this bill is passed.

* This bill would permanently normalize trade with Vietnam ahead of its entry into the World Trade Organization. Our trade relations with Vietnam should remain governed by existing agreements until Vietnam takes meaningful steps to bring practice and law regarding workers' rights into compliance with international standards. Vietnam's compliance with internationally recognized workers' rights and effective enforcement of its own labor laws is also crucial to assuring reasonable terms of competition for American workers and businesses.

* Other provisions extend textile trade preferences for sub-Saharan Africa, and create a new program for Haiti that might relax worker protections. A labor ombudsman position should be created which would help ensure that the additional market access granted would truly benefit Haitian workers, by strengthening the institutional protections of their rights and working conditions.

It is for all these reasons that I believe Rep. Thomas' Omnibus Trade Bill should be rejected until Congress has time to adequately review its contents.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
December 08, 2006

Background Information

H.R. 6346 lumps together several major pieces of trade legislation, several of which deserve to be strenuously opposed on their own merits. Rep. Thomas introduced this bill on a fast track to prevent close scrutiny of several problems with its provisions.

The Omnibus Act would implement a cynically-named "Andean Bridge to a Reciprocal Trade Partnership Act" which contains language designed to force Congress to pass the Colombia and Peru Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) within the first six months of 2007.

The goal is to undermine Democrats' reasonable demands that the Colombia and Peru FTAs be renegotiated to repair bad provisions on labor and environmental standards, and to prevent access to affordable medicines. Democrats also want to prevent the nation of Dubai from gaining unreasonable access over sensitive U.S. security points, which would not happen if this bill is passed.

The bill would permanently normalize trade with Vietnam ahead of its entry into the World Trade Organization. While the AFL-CIO supports expanded trade with Vietnam, and particularly supports programs and efforts to improve the living standards and conditions of Vietnamese workers, our trade relations with Vietnam should remain governed by existing agreements until Vietnam takes meaningful steps to bring practice and law regarding workers' rights into compliance with international standards. Vietnam's compliance with internationally recognized workers' rights and effective enforcement of its own labor laws is also crucial to assuring reasonable terms of competition for American workers and businesses.

Other provisions extend textile trade preferences for sub-Saharan Africa, and create a new program for Haiti that might relax worker protections. The AFL-CIO has advocated the creation of a labor ombudsperson program, which would help ensure that the additional market access granted would truly benefit Haitian workers, by strengthening the institutional protections of their rights and working conditions.

Please write your member of the U.S. House to let him or her know that this bill should NOT go through until Congress has had a chance to thoroughly review its provisions.

Jerry Lee, President
Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council