At Chicago Town Hall, Workers Call for New Course for U.S. Trade Policy
CHICAGO, IL – Union members and migrant justice organizers joined Chicago area policymakers at the UAW Local 551 headquarters for a town hall meeting to demand a bold new blueprint for trade policy.
Rep. Chuy García, Rep. Delia C. Ramirez, and former U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai met with Chicago workers who shared their personal experiences of how unfair trade and economic policies have harmed working people for decades.
Photos are available for publication. Video is available upon request.
“Workers in Chicago and across the Midwest know that bad trade deals have long-term consequences for our families and communities. Workers and unions have to be at the table when deals are being written, not just the CEOs, corporations, and lobbyists. To create an economy that works for all, trade deals need to protect wages, working people, the right to organize, and the environment. We cannot continue putting corporate profits over people if we want to build a fair and robust economy. I’m proud to join Public Citizen, UAW and other local stakeholders in this town hall to discuss how trade policy can challenge corporate power and protect working people from being ripped off.”
-Rep. Chuy García (IL-4)
“Over and over again, we have seen how the Trump administration, aided by Republicans in Congress, has prioritized benefits for large corporations and billionaires at the expense of working people and local businesses. As working families face a crushing affordability crisis, Trump’s disastrous economic policies are raising costs. Rather than providing relief, the Administration has pursued trade wars devastating our economy. I am clear: we must champion real alternatives that prioritize working people, fight corporate power, and strengthen our workforce. I remain committed to action to ensure our local families and economies thrive.”
-Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (IL-3)
“For more than a generation, Washington’s trade policies have treated places like Pittsburgh and Dayton as flyover country. That era is over. At the Coalition for New Trade, we’re building a movement to ensure communities like these have a seat at the table because the conversations happening here are the same ones we need to be having across the country about what inclusive, responsible trade actually looks like. Now is the time to fight for the next generation of trade policies and the respect these communities deserve.”
– Ambassador Katherine Tai, former U.S. Trade Representative under President Biden
“Free trade agreements of the past like NAFTA have just about squeezed working people into oblivion, and Trump’s chaotic and corrupt trade policies of today are only making matters worse. The goal of these town hall events is to talk with one another about how our rapidly changing global economy is impacting our communities and also to think big about what we could do if we had an economy designed to protect working people – and what we will need to get there.”
– Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch director at Public Citizen
“Families across IL-01 have seen stable, middle-class jobs disappear while corporate interests, disinvestment, and broken promises hollowed out our neighborhoods. It was an honor to participate in this Town Hall and stand together with workers, community leaders, and policymakers to build a shared vision for trade and economic priorities that expand opportunity and access to family-sustaining jobs, strengthen local businesses, and drive transformative investment in communities that have been left behind for far too long.”
-Rep. Jonathan Jackson (IL-1)
Similar events are taking place throughout the industrial Midwest this Spring as elected officials, labor unions, and progressive groups work to build a broad economic agenda to address growing inequality, unpredictable supply chains, and rising costs.
Remaining stop on the “Building a Fair Economy for All Tour”:
- Mt. Horeb, Wis. – June 16
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