Say NO to the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Congress is going to vote on an unfair trade deal with Colombia soon and I hope you can take a stand.

In Colombia, union activists like us get death threats and are murdered for standing up for their collective bargaining rights and joining a union. This trade agreement will do nothing to improve conditions in a country with one of the worst labor rights records in the world.

On October 4, activists from around the country will act as one to send a message loud and clear to Congress: no free trade deal with Colombia. Use our simple, online form to write to your members of Congress today, and we will hand deliver your letters on October 4.

Click here to write your  letter.

Earlier this year, I had the honor to meet six brave union leaders from Colombia, including José Diógenes Orjuela García, a man who has received threats to his life for his union work with the CUT union federation.

His message to our Government was simple: just keep an eye on Colombia and don't sign the treaty until they can show that they've made real changes for Colombian workers. "Don't be fooled by the claims of the Colombian Government," he said.

Stand up for collective bargaining rights and stand up for working people in Colombia. Send your message here:

http://action.cwa-union.org/c/11/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2831

The trade agreement would force working families in the United States into competition with workers whose wages are kept at the poverty level because they lack the essential democratic rights to organize unions and bargain directly with their employers.

When NAFTA was adopted in 1994, it resulted in 4.2 million good paying American manufacturing jobs lost and 43,000 American factories shut down, while the U.S. trade deficit ballooned. And in Mexico, thousands now face increased poverty, inequality, and drug-related violence.

We don't need the government passing another bad trade deal, we've already lost too many jobs. That is why it is so urgent that we send a message to Congress and tell them no free trade agreement with Colombia.

http://action.cwa-union.org/c/11/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2831

This is a bad deal for working families in the USA and it's a bad deal for working families in Colombia. Let's stand together to say no to this unfair trade deal.

In solidarity,

Larry Cohen
President