Tell Congress: Say NO to Colombia FTA

The Bush administration has done it again -- negotiated another unfair trade agreement that would have damaging consequences here at home as well as abroad.

Today President Bush transmitted the Colombia "free" trade agreement (FTA) to Congress, and under fast track rules, this means that it must be voted on before the August Congressional recess. Congress can only vote a straight YES or NO and cannot make any amendments to the agreement.

America's workers want fair trade policies, not more of the same job-killing trade agreements that the Bush administration continues to push through. Help make that a reality by telling your Members of Congress to vote NO on the Colombia "free" trade agreement. Tell me more

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

I am writing to urge you to oppose the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that the Bush administration has transmitted to Congress. This is yet another example of a job-killing trade agreement that will have damaging consequences both here at home and abroad.

While the labor chapter of the Colombia FTA is an improvement, the rest of the agreement is modeled off of the same flawed language found in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). NAFTA and CAFTA resulted in major job loss here at home, environmental degradation and the decimation of family farmers in other countries. We can only expect the results of the Colombia FTA to be the same.

Furthermore, it is reprehensible that this agreement was even negotiated when Colombia remains the most dangerous place in the world in which to be a trade union activist. According to the National Labor School, there have been 2,238 assassinations of trade unionists in Colombia since 1991, with 11 assassinations already this year. Due to ongoing assassinations and continuous threats of violence and death, trade unionists and their families live in a constant climate of fear that makes it impossible for them to fully and confidently exercise their rights to organize, bargain collectively, go on strike, or criticize their government. To make matters worse, the Colombian government has acted with total impunity and done very little to bring justice to these senseless killings. In all but a handful of these cases, the perpetrators are still at large and facing no charges.

This trade agreement is not "free." It comes at a huge cost for Americans and Colombians alike. For Americans, it means more losses in jobs and exports, decreased living standards for middle-class families, and a weaker domestic manufacturing base. For Colombians, it means more substandard wages, the destruction of their country's biodiversity, ruined livelihoods for family farmers, an increased pressure to emigrate, and no justice for the thousands of trade unionists already assassinated and those who continue to live in fear.

I ask you to make your opposition to the Colombia FTA heard today. Americans cannot afford more of these unfair, unbalanced trade agreements, and we should not be negotiating with a country that does not enforce international labor standards and dismisses assassinations of trade union activists. Please oppose the Colombia FTA today!

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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