Anti-Fast Track protests enter 2nd week

Anti-TPP activists are continuing to rally across the country as members of Congress prepare to return to Washington. They may well arrive for an epic battle over Fast Track legislation.

Fast Track would let Congress rubber stamp the secretly negotiated TPP. Fast Track is also the only way the deal will ever get passed. If Congress had to actually debate the TPP, people would find out what's in it and start reaching for their pitchforks. ,br />

Protesters demand Rep. Sam Farr vote no on Fast Track in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership, would send U.S. jobs overseas, lower wages, raise the cost of medicine and imperil food safety and the environment. TPP supporters want to pass Fast Track so Congress can send the secretly negotiated deal to the president before the public wakes up and realizes what happened.

A Fast Track bill has not been introduced yet. A Thursday Senate hearing about trade may provide an opportunity for TPP supporters to file a Fast Track bill. The committee chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch, has said he wants to introduce a Fast Track bill by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, TPP protests took place last week in the Pacific Northwest, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Colorado and California. 

Activists are ramping up pressure on Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator from Oregon who holds the key to Fast Track legislation. He hasn't said whether he supports Fast Track. If he does, he will provide cover for other Democrats to vote for it. 

This week activists are holding rallies, protests, meetings, Town Halls and news conferences in Bridgeport, Conn., Chicago, Rockville, Md., New York City, New Hope, N.C., and other cities where members of Congress haven't seen the light. Teamsters political representatives are also holding under-the-radar screen meetings in district offices.

Activists ask Rep. Mike Quigley, 'Don't betray our trust.'

Stay tuned. And call your representatives in Congress to tell them vote NO on Fast Track. It's fast, easy and free. Just dial  888-979-9806.