Fast Track legislation makes it easier to ship Michigan jobs overseas
LANSING – Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber issued the following statement today, following U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg’s votes to advance so-called “Fast Track” legislation.
“Tim Walberg has a long record of supporting unfair trade deals and outsourcing, and today’s vote is another reminder that he’s not on the side of working families,” said Bieber. “Bad trade deals like NAFTA have already cost our communities tens of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs. Last year alone, Michigan’s trade deficit was $66.8 billion. Fast Tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership will only make it easier for big corporations to send more Michigan jobs overseas. The people of Michigan deserve better from Tim Walberg.”
Tim Walberg has long defended unfair trade agreements, like NAFTA. Walberg has falsely claimed that NAFTA “has been proven to have supplied more jobs of equal or better pay to our country over the course of time.”
Michigan lost 254,763 manufacturing jobs during the NAFTA-WTO period (1994-2014), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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