TPP is a big, bad deal for workers

Rep. Marcy Kaptur called out TPP as bad for workers this morning.

Several House members gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to let the public know seeing isn't believing when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Lawmakers rolled out a copy for the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal on a dolly -- all 5,600 pages of it -- and said it will take more than 90 days for lawmakers to fully dissect and digest the agreement. But they added what they've read thus far is worse than they imagined.

When it comes to American jobs, trade deficits, expanded rights for foreign investors and food safety, the TPP is a loser for everyday Americans, elected officials stated. It's time for the U.S. to learn from past history on trade deals, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is more of the great sucking sound of jobs out of this country. Not a single one has resulted in a trade balance...We are going to lose even more jobs. TPP is just more of the same.

House members said bipartisan opposition to the deal is growing on Capitol Hill. Now that the document is public, lawmakers can delve into it to get the details of the pact. And many are not liking what they read.

The TPP document in all its largeness.

For example, the agreement will allow members to challenge food safety checks made when goods are imported into the U.S. Given the concerns many have raised about seafood brought in from Vietnam and Malaysia, for example, that is not good news for consumers.

TPP also does nothing to curtail currency manipulation, which would lead to even larger U.S. trade deficits with member countries. And investor-state dispute resolution language actually gives investors a great ability to sue these Pacific Rim countries to have their laws overturned.

As Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said, TPP is "too big to pass," given that only five chapters of the agreement even deal with trade. It's just another attempted corporate takeover sanctioned by member governments.

That's why Congress needs to say no to the TPP.

Sanders, Pocan unveil card check bill

Card check recognition -- which unions and their allies call “majority sign-up” -- is the key feature of a labor law reform measure Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) introduced this week.

Sen. Bernie Sanders

The Workplace Democracy Act, announced the day before a White House summit on workers rights, also would mandate mediation and arbitration between labor and management if they don’t agree on a first contract following union certification.

Card check recognition and first contract arbitration are two key provisions of the former Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a large rewrite of federal labor law which unions and their allies started pushing almost a decade ago. Another section – high and multiple fines for corporate labor-law breaking – was in a separate bill, the Wage Act, unveiled in September.

Sen. Sanders said:

Millions of Americans who want to join unions are unable to do so because of the coercive and often illegal behavior of their employers. The benefits of joining a union are clear: higher wages, better benefits and a more secure retirement. If we are serious about reducing income and wealth inequality and rebuilding the middle class, we have got to substantially increase the number of union jobs in this country. 

Card check recognition mandates that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certify a union represents workers if a simple majority of them sign valid authorization cards, rather than going through the time-consuming, often-delayed NLRB election process. Firms often abuse and manipulate the elections process, besides openly breaking labor law during campaigns. The Sanders-Pocan bill also says that once the union is recognized, the firm must open bargaining within 10 days.

If they can’t agree on a pact within 90 days, the union or the bosses can seek compulsory mediation. If they still can’t agree after a month of that, they submit remaining issues to binding arbitration.

• Press Associates, Inc., contributed to this report.