“They have demonstrated the dedication and leadership that
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TEAMSTERS, LABOUR ALLIES PROPOSE A PRO-WORKER PATH FORWARD FOR NAFTA
October 12, 2017
Teamsters Say New North American Trade Deal Must Enforce Basic Labour Rights
(WASHINGTON) – Top Teamsters leaders joined with members of Congress and their union allies from across North America today in laying out a path forward for a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as negotiators meet in the nation’s capital to discuss changes to the trade pact.
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and Teamsters Canada President François Laporte, speaking at a North American labour summit sponsored by the AFL-CIO, agreed that workers’ rights must be front and center in the minds of those participating in the fourth round of renegotiations of NAFTA. A new deal, they said, must enforce basic labour rights, increase wages and living standards for working families throughout the continent.
In the U.S., Hoffa said that means pushing back on anti-union legislation that hampers workers’ ability to collectively bargain.
“Teamsters in the U.S. are mobilized against the spread of so-called ‘right to work’ laws in the states because they depress wages by undercutting union power,” he said. “I applaud the Canadians for making this a trade issue. We agree that these laws incentivize employers to relocate from Canadian provinces that don’t allow ‘free-riders’. I urge the Canadian negotiators to hold their ground on their progressive labour text and for the U.S. negotiators to take this issue seriously.”
Laporte added, “Canadian Teamsters, like our brothers and sisters stateside, recognize that a new NAFTA must contain an ambitious new chapter that will protect worker rights and also be a model for future trade pacts. We appreciate the text tabled by our government, but we want to emphasize that worker rights and protections for indigenous people and women in the workforce are all very important, but that the enforcement is essential. New rights in a new NAFTA won’t be worth much without trade sanctions to back them up.”
A labour chapter as part of NAFTA 2.0 is essential to the fight. That’s why the Teamsters are participating in talks with Steelworkers, the AFL-CIO and fellow unions from Canada and Mexico to ensure a successful NAFTA renegotiation.
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Testimonial
- Bruce Tillapaugh –Shop Steward. Island Farms, Victoria
A message from a retiring 464 member:
http://www.teamsters464.org/news/open-letter-my-fellow-union-members#
- Dave S
For
35 years I have been a Teamster and a Dairyworker, I was a young kid needing a
job in tough economic times. I found a place to work and make a living, I
learned to work together with others having varying and different backgrounds
than my own.
Much has changed for me personally and professionally, I got married to my
beautiful wife of almost 25 years and we have raised two amazing children, both
of whom are presently studying abroad. Both of my children were recipients of
Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Funding.
So much of my success I can credit to having a well paying union job. The
Teamsters have been a great union for me, negotiating strong collective
agreements that held good wage and benefit packages as well as the cornerstone
beliefs of seniority and workers’ rights. The Teamsters gave me a good wage and
a voice.
I have always been an active Teamster, and now I sit on Local 464's Executive
Board.
There can be a great degree of personal feelings when the word union is
mentioned, but so often I look at professional associations and realize the
name may be different, but the thought is the same...strength in numbers.
As I get toward the end of my career, I look forward to the thought of
receiving the Teamsters Canada Pension Plan, and I am so grateful for the
belief others had before me that Teamsters deserved a good and decent
retirement...thank you.
Drew
- Drew Speirs