The new NAFTA trade agreement is back in the headlines as President Trump tries to rush the proposed deal through Congress. Michigan congressman Andy Levin, a former AFL-CIO staffer, talked about his concerns on the latest episode of the AFL-CIO’s State of the Unions podcast…
(audio) Levin: Here’s the thing: we have this progressive regime in Mexico now, progressive president, and it’s incredible. We have to acknowledge that it’s a great thing. But the problem is I don’t see how I can vote for a new NAFTA even if we change it and get much stronger enforcement rules inside the agreement and so forth. I want to see it in practice. Even just us sitting around here talking as organizers, how would you unravel hundreds of thousands of protection agreements? What does that really look like? Mexican presidents get one six-year term. So even if there is some positive change, what if we get a pre-regime again in six years in Mexico and it swings back the other way? That’s why any trade agreement has to be so strong that we know that the changes we need would carry on whoever the government is in Mexico. We’re certainly not there right now with what they’ve given us. Listen to State of the Unions on your favorite podcast platform. For the latest local labor calendar listings, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. In today’s labor history, on this date in 1900, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union – or ILGWU -- was founded, becoming one of the largest labor unions in the United States, and one of the first American unions to have a primarily female membership. It’s now part of UNITE HERE. Today’s labor quote is by Matthew Woll, a vice president of the American Federation of Labor, after ILGWU president David Dubinsky was elected to the AFL’s Executive Council in 1934. Matthew Woll, who said that Dubinsky’s election “means more than the recognition of a man. It means a recognition of the race that he sprang from and a notice to Hitler that we Americans recognize no racial distinctions or restrictions in the labor movement.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. If you’re thinking about hitting a theme park with your family this summer, visit unionplus.org/entertainment to get savings at America’s favorite theme parks.
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