Inequality may well be the defining problem of our time. The causes of inequality are complex, but one way of combating inequality is protecting worker’s rights. So why do our politicians continue to promote policies that undermine workers?
On May 29, 151 House Democrats sent a letter to the Obama administration pointing out the failure of past trade agreements to defend internationally recognized labor rights. They called for strong, enforceable labor protections in the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. TPP would include countries like Vietnam that regularly employ child and forced labor.
U.S. Rep. Denny Heck chose not to sign on.
When our living-wage jobs are offshored to sweatshops in other countries, everyone loses. I am disappointed that Heck passed on an opportunity to say he believes that worker rights should be enshrined in trade agreements in the same way that corporate rights are.
Reps. Adam Smith and Jim McDermott signed on to the statement that “We must do everything possible to prevent the American marketplace from being flooded with imports manufactured by workers laboring without human dignity and individual rights.” Shame on Heck for failing to do so.