CONTACT: R.J. Hufnagel: 412-562-2450, rhufnagel@usw.org
PITTSBURGH (April 21) — The United Steelworkers(USW) released the following statements today from USW International President Leo W. Gerard and USW District 10 Director Bob McAuliffe in response to the Pittsburgh City Council’s “Will of Council” resolution against the proposed “fast track” trade bill in Congress.
Statement from USW International President Leo W. Gerard:
“Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak and her colleagues on the Pittsburgh City Council are to be commended for their vote today. They’ve done the right thing in standing up for American workers and rejecting the plan for Fast Track trade promotion authority.
“Fast Track is not only unnecessary, it is undemocratic. It fails to allow for sufficient debate or amendment, and doesn’t provide the transparency and accountability the American people should expect from their government.
“Simply put, we don’t need Fast Track. What we need instead is a complete overhaul of our trade practices and priorities. We need stronger rules that support American workers and American manufacturing, and we need to enforce those rules fairly and consistently. We need to stop forcing our own citizens to lose their jobs before we can win a trade case.
“Rather than pursuing policies like Fast Track that will lead us into another bad trade deal, our leaders should concentrate on changing our current system in a way that will support American workers.”
Statement from USW District 10 Director Bob McAuliffe:
“This vote is a reminder that for workers, the question of fair trade is not an international or national issue, it is local. Trade is an issue that affects our ability to provide for our families, to retire with dignity and to ensure a better life for our children and our grandchildren. That is why we say ‘no’ to Fast Track.
“Last year, we marked the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Looking back, it was very clear that NAFTA was a bad deal for American workers and American industry. We lost thousands of factories and millions of good, family-supporting jobs. Pennsylvania alone has lost 314,000 manufacturing jobs since NAFTA. The last thing we need is more of the same, yet that is exactly what Fast Track would give us.”
USW District 10 includes more than 40,000 USW members in Pennsylvania. The USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing workers in a range of industries including metals, mining, rubber, paper and forestry, oil refining, health care, security, hotels, and municipal governments and agencies.
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