Coalition to Discuss How New Trade Pact Fails Reading
News Advisory
Contact: George Piasecki – (215) 788-4540; gpiasecki@usw.org
Tony Montana – (412) 562-2592; tmontana@usw.org
Reading, Pa. – The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that union workers and retirees will join elected officials, clergy and community leaders for the first in a series of town hall style meetings to outline the potentially devastating consequences for Pennsylvania workers and businesses if the U.S. enters the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement between 12 nations that Congress is charged with accepting or rejecting.
The first event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Tues., Feb. 2, 2016, at USW Local 6996 on North Front St. in Reading, is co-sponsored with the United Labor Council of Reading and Berks County, AFL-CIO and will feature workers from Hoffman Industries, where about 100 workers have been displaced due to unfairly traded imports.
The USW, the AFL-CIO and other unions have urged Congress to reject the TPP, pointing out that the trade deal does not address currency manipulation, accepts overcapacity in global manufacturing, has insufficient rules for State-Owned Enterprises, provides weak rules of origin for autos and auto parts and lacks the teeth to ensure worker rights standards are implemented.
Nationwide, previous trade agreements have cost more than one million jobs and contributed to the shuttering of more than 60,000 factories while the U.S. has accumulated huge trade deficits with major foreign economies around the globe.
These events are free, and the USW welcomes and encourages the public to participate in this important discussion before the Trans-Pacific Partnership costs more jobs than our economy can afford to lose.
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.
ATTN ASSIGNMENT/EDITORS: Photo Opportunities, Interviews
WHO: USW and other members and retirees, clergy, elected officials and other community leaders
WHAT: Town Hall style meetings to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its potentially devastating impact on Pennsylvania jobs, families and communities
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Tues., Feb. 2, 2016
WHERE: USW Local 6996 – 1251 North Front St. – Reading, Pa. 19601