Californians Deserve Better Than Another Rotten Trade Deal

Statement by California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski on announcement that a deal has been reached on negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership

California has a huge stake in the upcoming debate over the recently negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The deal, hammered out behind closed doors by administration officials and corporate advisors, could have a profound negative effect on Golden State jobs, and threatens what’s left of our middle class.

We’ve heard the hollow promises on bad trade deals before. Instead of creating good jobs, these deals have gutted California’s manufacturing base.  They lead to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of family-supporting jobs and stagnated wages across industries. The TPP also has the potential to undercut California’s strong worker and environmental protections, deepen poverty and tilt our economy even further to the wealthy and well-connected while leaving everyday Californians behind.

For months this deal has been veiled in an unprecedented level of secrecy. That’s unacceptable. A deal of this magnitude must be carefully evaluated, not only by politicians who will vote on it, but also by the families it will affect.

Californians deserve better than flawed trade deals that outsource even more of our jobs to other countries. We deserve better than flawed trade deals that lead to environmental degradation and place our laws to protect workers and the environment at risk. We deserve better than flawed trade deals that undermine public health. And we deserve better than flawed trade deals that will rip even more workers from our state’s middle class.

We look forward to carefully evaluating this agreement and all its potential consequences. We call on every member of Congress to listen to not only the corporate lobbyists pushing its approval but the hard working people of California who would bear the brunt of yet another rotten trade deal.

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