Tough talk at anti-TPP union rally on Capitol Hill
On the 15th of April, large numbers of union supporters gathered on Capitol Hill oppose the proposed TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership. They called this "another NAFTA," and even used the term "SHAFTA" for the trade deals that have been offshoring US jobs and led to plummeting wages since 1994. Multiple members of Congress as well as union officials had some unusually tough talk against the "fast track" bill for the TPP. Fast track means a quick ratification vote with no debate if a treaty is signed, for a treaty whose very text is being kept secret.
MD Rep Donna Edwards asked "Do I look like a rubber stamp? and said the treaty would threaten food safety. A speaker from AFGE went even further, calling on everyone to "get that can of whoop-ass ready, take it across the street, and beat up everyone's ass that wants to vote for such a stupid deal." THIS is the kind of language politicans tempted by those fat bags of campaign cash now being passed out by the US Chamber of Commerce and Monsanto need to hear.
Perhaps speakers at the rally felt that those behind the TPP are acting like gangsters, so they'd better address them in their own language. There was even a speaker asking everyone to make members of Congress "an offer they can't refuse." That offer was simple: create the jobs inside the US instead of offshore, or lose their jobs too.
