Washington, D.C. (Feb. 3, 2016) — As representatives of Trans-Pacific Partnership countries meet in New Zealand today to officially sign the trade deal, Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), and Debbie Dingell (MI-12) joined together with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and representatives from MoveOn and the Sierra Club at a press conference to address the shortfalls of the TPP and to demand a better deal for American workers and families.
“The American people have been left out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership from the very beginning and it shows in the resulting agreement. If this deal is enacted, the American people will be left behind as corporations benefit. From an ISDS process that allows foreign corporations to overrule our domestic rule of law, to unenforceable labor, environmental, and human rights protections, to no protections against currency manipulation, this deal helps the corporate class while selling out working Americans and their families,” said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. “The American people deserve a better future that empowers our middle class and domestic economy; that protects people and our planet.”
“The TPP agreement is toxic, and the American people are not buying it,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Working people are determined to end the era of corporate trade deals that lower our wages and kill our jobs. To all those on the ballot in 2016, we have a simple message: either you’re with us or against us.”
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a corporate giveaway that’s bad for consumers, workers, and the environment. We don’t need our elected leaders to hand multinational corporations even more power over our daily lives. That’s why hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members have fought against the TPP and other deals like it over the years—and why we’ll fight it in Congress this spring,” said Ben Wikler, Washington Director, MoveOn.org Civic Action who spoke at the event.
Yesterday, Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, Rosa DeLauro and other lawmakers released a joint op-ed on why the American people deserve better than the TPP.
