You've probably seen the charges that have been circulating that Barack Obama has been misrepresenting his positions on trade.
Today, Change to Win leaders issued the following statement denouncing these smear tactics:
Our unions decided to endorse Senator Barack Obama because of his strong stand on the issue of fair trade. In all of our discussions with him, it became clear that Senator Obama is the strongest candidate to protect America’s workers and the environment through a new trade policy. We firmly believe that Senator Obama is the strongest candidate to stand up for American jobs in future trade agreements. On NAFTA, we believe him when he says he will “use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labor and environmental standards that are enforced."
We are disappointed that the Clinton campaign has decided to peddle a memo from a low level bureaucrat of an anti-worker Canadian administration that is in complete contradiction to the actual positions of Senator Obama. Our members should remember that it was the Clinton Administration that was the driving force behind the passage of NAFTA in 1993 and its aggressive campaign for NAFTA is a big reason the Democrats lost the House in 1994.
We support Senator Obama and stand with him in his commitment to a trade policy that benefits American workers.
The statement was signed by Anna Burger, Chair of Change to Win; Edgar Romney, CtW Secretary-Treasurer; Joe Hansen, President, UFCW; James P. Hoffa, President, Teamsters Union; Bruce Raynor, President, UNITE HERE; and Andy Stern, President, SEIU.
This web page is paid for by the Change to Win Committee for the American Dream and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
Comments (4)
Comments posted to CtW Connect are the sole property of the individual posting them, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Change to Win, its affiliated unions, or its leadership.
You report: "the gains in growth and productivity since the 1970s have not contributed to greater economic security for all, and inequality has returned to levels not seen since the years before the Great Depression."
So Obama says he is going to try to do something about Nafta and he's your man. What about national health insurance, the defense budget, the war, the Fed's role in the various bubbles, etc. And all you need to support him is a promise to try do do something about one issue.
You blame goverment policy for the decline in unionism. I think the decline is do to the irrelavence of unions in the economics of labor.
Posted by Tom Verso on March 3, 2008 at 8:37 PM
Posted on March 3, 2008 at 8:37 PM
I'm not happy with either Democratic candidate's position on trade. Obama voted for the Peru FTA and he has often said, when speaking about trade, that the agreements need clauses protecting workers and the environment. True enough, but not enough. FTA's need to be re-written to favor working people rather than the current model that extends the power of corporations and investors.
Posted by Tony Avirgan on March 4, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Posted on March 4, 2008 at 10:09 AM
cnn announced tonight on their exit polls that teamsters in ohio did not vote for obama. Again, the leaders of this union should have polled their members before they endorsed anyone
Posted by rgwynn on March 5, 2008 at 4:28 AM
Posted on March 5, 2008 at 4:28 AM
According to all the latest reports, there was no truth in any of the
earlier reports.
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http://ebloggy.com/wilmakerrmo
Posted by EtedePneupt on May 6, 2008 at 3:32 AM
Posted on May 6, 2008 at 3:32 AM