CWAers Take to MA State House to Lobby Against TPP

IUE-@CWAUnion Local 201 took to the MA State House yesterday to lobby for their resolution against #TPP! pic.twitter.com/trxEX9kqfq

— CWA District 1 (@CWADistrict1) October 29, 2015

IUE-CWA Local 201 took to the Massachusetts State House yesterday to lobby for their resolution against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the trade deal that is poised to kill U.S. jobs, erode workers' rights, and give more powers to corporations.

The resolution was filed by Representative (D-Lynn) Brendan P. Crighton back in January with seventeen co-sponsors. Ten members joined Local President Peter Capano who gave testimony urging representatives to pass the resolution.

This week CWA President Chris Shelton commented on news reports that revealed that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will give big banks yet another way to challenge needed regulation of Wall Street:

"While we haven't yet seen this 'secret' deal yet, because U.S. negotiators refuse to make it public, news reports are confirming that under the TPP, banks will be able to use the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process to challenge financial rules that they claim are 'arbitrary.' In fact, if the reports are accurate, the TPP will give banks a broader right to use the ISDS process than they have ever been given by any previous U.S. Free Trade Agreement, because it will allow them to file suits charging that they haven't been provided a loosely defined 'minimum standard of treatment.' As we've seen industry after industry challenge all sorts of public interest laws under this broken ISDS system, it makes no sense to make it easier for banks to launch ISDS challenges than it's ever been in any other FTA."

CWA and a broad coalition of environmental, good government, faith, consumer, immigration and other groups continute to call on Congress to reject this bad trade deal, and negotiate a trade agreement that works for working families and communities.

Learn more about the TPP at StopTheTPP.org