Jeff Weaver, President
Shannon Jackson, Executive Director
Last year President Obama sought, and won, approval from Congress to “fast track” trade deals. That means that he can submit the TPP to Congress and put it up for a vote without any amendments. Congress can approve it as-is, or reject it. That’s it.
Legally, today is the first day that President Obama can do this. He’s said before that he would like to pass TPP in the lame duck session. We don’t know if he’s going to try this week, next week, or after the election, but we need to be ready to stop it in case he does try.
If President Obama does force a vote, realistically our best chance at defeating TPP is in the House of Representatives.
The reality of how the fast track process works is that TPP can’t be amended — not a single word. It’s also true that TPP can’t be filibustered in the Senate. It just needs 50 Senator votes if President Obama decides to submit it to Congress.
We know that Bernie Sanders will oppose TPP, but the same can’t be said for many other members of the Senate. If TPP comes up in the Senate, it’s likely it will pass. It’s not great, but that’s what we’re facing. Our best chance to defeat TPP is in the House of Representatives. If we can get a majority of members of Congress to vote no on TPP, we can win. So we must focus our efforts there.
This Fall is a National Month of Action focusing on the HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES to STOP the T.P.P.
For years, a big coalition of Labor, environmental, trade, and other groups has worked to stop TPP. Together these groups have millions of members who have spoken out, made phone calls, lobbied politicians, and done everything they can to stop TPP. Our goal is to place at least 50,000 calls to members of Congress and their offices on Wednesday. With your help, we’re going to help lead this fight and find out where these representatives stand on TPP, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they know the people they represent want to defeat TPP.
If TPP passes, there’s no going back. The only way to get out of the trade deal – even to change a single word! – is if every one of the 12 nations agree. That’s not going to happen. So we need to defeat TPP now.
Big corporate interests and Wall Street are lining up to help TPP pass Congress when President Obama starts the fast track process. We’ve proven before that when enough people stand together, we can beat those special interests. Now we need to do it again, starting with our day of action on Wednesday to reach our goal of 50,000 calls to Congress.
The next thing we need you to do is ask your friends and family to also sign on to oppose TPP. Facebook, Twitter, or email – however you communicate – please just let folks know what’s at stake and that we need their help to stop this disastrous trade deal. Thanks for all you do for our movement. We’ll be in touch soon about how else you can help stop TPP.
In solidarity,
Larry Cohen
Former President, Communication Workers of America
Chair of the Board, Our Revolution
