Stop FTAA—It’s the Wrong Choice!

The BCTGM is among more than 50 organizations to join the AFL-CIO in a nationwide campaign to oppose the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The FTAA is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) all over again—but 10 times bigger. FTAA would spread the damage that NAFTA has done—weakening enforceable labor and environmental protections and increasing corporate power—to 34 nations and 800 million people by eliminating tariffs in all countries in the Western Hemisphere except Cuba. Often referred to as “NAFTA on Steroids,” the FTAA would create the largest free-trade zone in the world.

Negotiators have been meeting behind closed doors since 1998 to work out the details of the FTAA, and on Nov. 20 and 21, trade leaders from 34 nations in the Western Hemisphere will gather in Miami for the the Eighth FTAA Ministerial Meeting to plan the next step in creating FTAA.

The BCTGM along with the AFL-CIO and workers throughout the hemisphere have called for an agreement that includes enforceable workers’ rights and environmental standards, debt relief and sustainable development that benefits all people, not just the rich.

BCTGM members can join other trade unionists in filling out a “ballot”—signed statements opposing the FTAA—in an unofficial vote to let trade ministers know workers’ voices must be heard. The ballots will be delivered to the Ministerial Meetingi in November.

By signing a ballot, you can tell trade ministers and our elected officials that FTAA is the wrong choice for jobs, workers’ rights and the environment.

Armed with Fast Track trade negotiating authority, President George W. Bush and Big Business plan to ramrod FTAA through Congress by the end of 2005 without a public debate. Fast Track eliminated Congress’s ability to improve trade deals, with law-makers now permitted only a “yes”or “no” vote on the entire trade agreement. Under Fast Track, the nation’s elected representatives cannot add any pro-visions, including those that would protect workers’ rights and the environment.

FTAA: NAFTA times 10

Since it was signed nearly a decade ago, NAFTA—which covers the United States, Canada and Mexico—has cost 766,000 actual and potential U.S. jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit organization.

The FTAA would cover 34 nations and 800 million people and would trade away even more jobs.

In Mexico, wages and income fell 25 percent for salaried workers and 40 percent for the self-employed between 1991 and 1998 under NAFTA, while inequality grew and job quality declined, the Economic Policy Institute reports.

Canada’s overall economic growth in the 1990s was the worst than in any decade since the 1930s, according to the institute. Under NAFTA, average per capita income fell steadily in the first seven years of the decade and only regained 1989 levels by 1999.

Take action now

You can act now to tell trade ministers, the Bush administration and your elected officials FTAA is the wrong choice for jobs, workers’ rights and the environment. Join the popular opposition that is growing throughout the hemisphere.