PORTLAND, OR. – Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain released the flowing statement after hearing news that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will not bring forward the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement in the post-election lame duck session:
“Oregon’s unions have not typically agreed with the decisions made by Senator McConnell, but the choice not to hold a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership is absolutely the right call. The TPP is a threat to working people in Oregon, and a threat to working communities across our entire country. We can’t afford another NAFTA-style free-trade deal which sends more Oregon jobs overseas for the sake of corporate profits. What we need are trade policies designed to give working people opportunities instead of shuttered factories, unemployment, and a global race to the bottom.”