Contacts: Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444, wranick@usw.org
Benjamin Davis (412) 562-2501, bdavis@usw.org
(Pittsburgh) – The United Steelworkers (USW) International Executive Board issued the following statement yesterday supporting the proposed P5+1 Iran Nuclear Agreement recently negotiated by the Obama administration:
"The USW supports the Iran deal because it would enhance national and global security as well as benefit the U.S. economy. The leaders of the world’s largest economies including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China support the deal and are now watching developments in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress.
"We are hopeful that this agreement will also lead to much needed improvements in worker and human rights for millions in the region as called for by the International Trade Union Confederation.
"Without question, other countries will move forward to do a deal with Iran even if the United States withdraws its support. The damage from abandoning the deal could well create a new level of uncertainty in a region where uncertainty is often the precursor to economic upheaval and military unrest.
"Also, if the United States withdraws its support, energy prices for manufactured goods and other traditional uses would most likely drop for the other countries while increasing here at home, once again helping others at the expense of American workers and consumers.
“The United States is the world’s largest importer of oil. That is why the USW testified in support of maintaining the ban on raw crude exports.
“If the US does not support the deal, domestic manufacturing such as the automotive, aerospace and medical device industries could be harmed, as other countries such as China have already claimed that they would do business with Iran. In fact, Germany, Italy and France have already sent delegations to Iran to explore export opportunities.
"No deal is completely unacceptable because it would leave Iran unchecked to press forward at any cost to develop a world-changing nuclear weapons program.
"In the coming days, USW members across the country will be reaching out to their members of Congress to let them know that working American families are invested in the approval of this critical agreement."
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.
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