U.S. must end endorsement of child, forced labor

Child and forced labor have no place in the U.S. production chain. But a law on the books allows some goods made overseas under such conditions to be imported into this country. And it's got to stop.

Malaysia's inclusion in TPP shows serious problems with deal.

As it stands, some 136 products from 74 countries brought to this nation used workers either not doing the job under their own free will or who are not old enough to consent to such work. It's allowed under a loophole in an 85-year-old measure which was originally intended to help save American jobs in industries such as farming during the Great Depression by placing tariffs on international goods.

According to a Bureau of International Labor Affairs report, goods ranging from alcohol to vanilla are part of the list. India tops the list in the number of goods made by forced or child labor. But every year there are additions, and the most recent document shows that electronics and palm oil made in Malaysia have just been added.

While other nations also produced goods added to this auspicious list last year, the inclusion of the above Pacific Rim nation is significant because it also happens to be one of the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations. This is a trade pact, mind you, that is supposed to ensure more fair labor standards for workers.

Earlier this year, Malaysia's treatment of workers came under fire because of the practice of human trafficking in the country. Many took issue with a U.S. State Department report that upgraded the nation's status on the issue, saying it was influenced by the country's participation in the TPP.

As the holiday season enters full swing, it is imperative that the U.S. clamp down on the importation of such overseas products. It's not fair nor just to those making them and it's not good for America as a whole to continue purchasing them. Surely it would be better to buy gifts made right here at home.

The U.S. needs to lead on labor issues, not turn a blind eye towards injustice.

New TPP deal meets resistance from all sides

Georgia Teamsters joined in protest of TPP in Atlanta last week.

Trade officials with the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations signed off on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) today, starting the clock on a months-long debate of the deal that could lead to thousands of lost American jobs and lower wages for many more.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa noted that everyday workers gain nothing from the TPP -- not new jobs, not higher wages or even better products imported into the U.S. Instead, the pact is all for the good of big business:

The Teamsters and many, many others just don't see any value in what TPP brings to this country. First and foremost is the deal won't create any new jobs here. That is significant and can't be pushed aside by proponents. After all, TPP backers like to insist it will result in new work for Americans, although they can never quite explain how. There's a reason why their responses are so vague.

But disagreement over the deal stretches much further than just the Teamsters and other unions. Indeed, politicians on all side of the political spectrum voiced their displeasure with the deal soon after it was announced this morning.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a leading presidential candidate, said:

Wall Street and other big corporations have won again. It is time for the rest of us to stop letting multi-national corporations rig the system to pad their profits at our expense.

But more surprising was the statement of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a proponent of the agreement, who argues it isn't up to snuff:

Closing a deal is an achievement for our nation only if it works for the American people and can pass Congress by meeting the high-standard objectives laid out in bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority. While the details are still emerging, unfortunately I am afraid this deal appears to fall woefully short.

And maybe the most enlightening is the comments made by Ziad Ojakli, Ford Motor Company's Group Vice President for Government and Community Relations, who notes the deal doesn't address currency manipulation concerns that would drive up U.S. trade deficits:

To ensure the future competitiveness of American manufacturing, we recommend Congress not approve TPP in its current form, and ask the Administration to renegotiate TPP and incorporate strong and enforceable currency rules. This step is critical to achieving free trade in the 21st century.

Add that up, and you've got a lot of unhappy people representing different parts of the public and private sectors. In short, this is a bad deal that doesn’t deserve the stamp of approval from Congress. As the Teamsters have stressed as part of our new Let’s Get America Working campaign, businesses need to invest at home, not abroad. And elected officials need to remember who they serve. Corporations aren't people too.

Who's that country making Oreo cookies?

Here's a not-so-tasty reminder of the damage bad trade deals can bring to the U.S. -- the production of Oreos are moving south of the border.

Starting soon, as a result of the firm’s drive for higher profits and lower wages, your Oreo Cookies will be made in Mexico, not Chicago. And it’s all thanks to NAFTA.

That’s the unpleasant news -- minus the NAFTA reference, of course --  that Mondelez, Inc., delivered to workers at its Southwest Side plant on Aug. 24. Bakery Confectionery and Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) President David Durkee says approximately 600 workers -- the Oreo production line there -- would lose their jobs. Some other product lines for Mondelez, which used to be Kraft Foods, would stay open at the Chicago plant, its largest in the U.S.

In a letter to President Barack Obama, Durkee said Mondelez demanded $46 million in annual savings from the union workers. It was an “offer,” Durkee added, calculated to be rejected.

Mondelez basically wanted the Chicago cuts to not only boost its profits “but pay for the Mexican workers’ wages, too,” the union says. And it could demand the cuts and make the move, Durkee said, thanks to NAFTA, the 20-year-old controversial U.S.-Canada-Mexico “free trade” pact that has become a model for other such agreements.

BCTGM calculated that $46 million would equal wage and benefit cuts of $22-$29 an hour for the workers at the plant, where BCTGM Local 300 represents all 1,000-plus workers. That compares to $2 an hour Mondelez plans to pay workers in Salinas, Mexico, to produce Oreo cookies. The firm announced it will invest $130 million in what it calls “more efficient” production lines in Salinas.

NAFTA and other succeeding trade pacts, including the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), trash U.S. workers, Durkee told Obama. The pacts promote “a pernicious corporate business model predicated on the maximization of profits and executive compensation through elimination of good middle-class jobs at U.S. factories concurrent with expansion of production in unregulated factories in very low-wage countries.”

Mondelez, Durkee noted, is a profitable $35 billion worldwide firm whose CEO earned $21 million in total compensation last year. Durkee asked Obama “to reach out to Mondelez” corporate leaders and “ask them to rescind their decision and create, not cut, U.S. middle-class jobs.”

It's because of business decisions like these that workers need to be wary of deals like the TPP. More jobs are sure the flee overseas if the pact is ultimately approved.

• Press Associates contributed to this report.