If an iPhone is put together in a Chinese factory, where is it “manufactured”? Seems like a simple question, doesn’t it?
Here at the AFL-CIO, we keep an eye out for tricky things big corporations and the 1% try to do in Washington to hurt working people. So we see a lot of outrageous stuff, but this one even we can't quite believe. For years our government has made trade deals that hurt working people by destroying jobs and driving down wages. It’s gotten so bad that even many “free traders” now admit deals like NAFTA killed jobs. But this is kind of a problem if you’re a big corporation that wants to do more NAFTA-style trade deals.
So what’s the corporate plan? Simple—cook the books. Or better yet, get the government to cook the books by calling things that actually are made in Mexico and China “domestically produced” just because someone in America did something connected with the company that sells them. There are people in the Obama administration who are ready to cook the books by changing how the United States reports manufacturing and foreign trade data, making trade agreements and corporate outsourcers look good—and we need to stop them.
This proposal sounds too absurd to be real, but it’s happening—and it could have huge consequences for all of us.
Corporations and the politicians they control will use this doctored data to make another push for more job-destroying free trade agreements, like NAFTA, because the doctored data will hide the devastating effects “free trade” has on working families here and abroad and on our environment.
With public pressure from you, we were able to stall an irresponsible “fast track” trade bill from moving in Congress. Let’s do it again with this equally ridiculous idea.
Tell the Obama administration that cooking the books is just plain wrong, and hiding the consequences of bad trade deals just adds insult to injury to working families here and abroad:
Damon
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Damon Silvers
Director of Policy, AFL-CIO
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T-Mobile Workers Ask for Help--
About to See Their Jobs Shipped Overseas!
XXXXX,
I was on my way to work at the T-Mobile call center in Brownsville, Texas, when I got some bad news. My co-workers and I soon would be out of jobs because T-Mobile had decided to ship our jobs offshore. The company's decision had devastating effects on my family. Since then, I have been speaking out against T-Mobile’s anti-worker practices.
House and car payments, tuition for my oldest son’s college education and the expenses of caring for five children were the first things that came to my mind. No American worker should have to worry that their job will be taken from them unceremoniously and given to someone else. Even though I lost my job, I will not give up the fight for justice for T-Mobile workers—and you can stand up for workers with me.
T-Mobile has a record of offshoring jobs, intimidating and even humiliating workers. And now, with the media buzzing about a potential merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, some workers are scared that more jobs will be taken offshore. We can defeat T-Mobile and help these workers if we stand with them by taking action now.
In a small town like Brownsville, where many of my friends and neighbors also were T-Mobile employees, the effect of hundreds of people losing their jobs sent shock waves through the entire city. The local economy suffered, as many who relied on wages from T-Mobile as their sole source of income were forced to receive government assistance. Some even lost their cars and homes. T-Mobile should be focusing on treating its workers better, not figuring out ways to take good-paying jobs from American workers to ship overseas.
Stand with me and other workers by signing the petition to demand that T-Mobile improve working conditions and stop shipping America’s jobs overseas.
Perla
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Perla Balli, former T-Mobile employee in Brownsville, Texas
Visit us at www.aflcio.org | Facebook | Twitter Text WORK to AFLCIO (235246) to join our text action team. (Message and data rates may apply.)
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The Senate moved closer to a vote on getting big money out of politics, with the full Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup and vote on S. J. Res. 19. It’s an historic action that, when fully enacted, will enable Congress and the states to limit political spending and get big money out of politics. Read More
As the 2014 midterm elections loom large, members from 16 CWA locals in North Carolina gathered in Charlotte this week to participate in an intensive one-day political training boot camp to prepare. Read More
The Senate moved closer to a vote on getting big money out of politics this week as the full Senate Judiciary Committee approved S.J. Res. 19. Read More
CDALF Request Your Participation in this E-Activist Campaign....
Dear XXXX,
The NLRB is charged with ensuring that workers can join together to improve their wages, benefits and treatment on the job. But, a recent proposal to consolidate the agency’s Buffalo Region into the Pittsburgh Region would inhibit its ability to protect these rights for millions of workers.
Corporations are already going to greater lengths than ever to prevent workers from exercising their collective bargaining rights. The proposed consolidation would only embolden and further empower them to do so by causing delays in investigations, decisions, enforcement and elections.
A centrally located Regional office Upstate gives workers a venue to directly register complaints and hold hearings in a timely manner against unlawful employers seeking to silence their voice on the job. New York workers cannot afford to have that forum undermined by a shortsighted consolidation proposal.
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The U.S. Senate is taking a historic vote this summer on a constitutional amendment that would stem the tide of money from the mega-corporations and ultra-wealthy in our elections. Do your senators support S.J. Res. 19, a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court rulings of Citizens United & McCutcheon? Look to see if your senators have co-sponsored this amendment.
July 2nd and 3rd are National Action Days! Look to see what patriotic events are happening in your area.
Senators will be back in their home states from June 27 until July 7. If no event is already planned near you, sign-up to host an event!
Each year, New York spends $7 billion of your money on corporate tax subsidies in the name of job creation. But too much of this money is wasted on corporations that create no jobs, add poverty wage jobs, or even cut jobs.
The system is broken and too many New Yorkers are getting left behind. We can change that; we can make New York work for hardworking New Yorkers!
Unfortunately, right now much of New York’s economic development system is set up as a corporate piggy bank. Hundreds of agencies operate largely outside of public view, and most of the time, we have no idea we’re subsidizing these corporations.
The free ride on your dime needs to end. Our State Representatives need to step in to make sure we’re getting our money’s worth. We know they hear a lot from big corporations — now they need to hear from you:
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Some of the largest U.S. companies, like GE, Apple and Pfizer, are stashing billions of dollars in profits overseas -- and avoiding billions of dollars in U.S. taxes. They’re hoping we won’t notice that they’re doing it.
They're lobbying Congress right now to get a special tax holiday that would allow them to bring these enormous profits back to the U.S. and pay just a tiny fraction of the taxes they would normally owe. That's outrageous!
Let's put a stop to it.
Get the word out about these American tax dodgers to your friends on Facebook and Twitter -- and tell them to share it, too:
Dear XXXX,
