At Pittsburgh Town Hall, Workers Call for New Course for U.S. Trade Policy
PITTSBURGH, PA – At the United Steelworkers (USW) headquarters, union members, retirees, and small business owners turned out in droves to attend a town hall meeting to demand a bold new blueprint for trade policy.
Rep. Chris Deluzio, USW International Vice President Amber Miller, and former administration officials U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and labor economist Thea Lee met with Pittsburgh workers who have personally experienced how unfair trade and economic policies have harmed working people for decades.
Photos are available for publication.
“For too long, politicians in Washington and the White House have prioritized trade policies that put corporate interests first and hardworking Americans last. People are working their butts off, but they still can’t get their slice of the American Dream. It’s time for a change. We need to reindustrialize America and rework America’s trade and industrial policies to put workers at the heart of it. I’m glad to have joined this conversation today, and I’ll keep fighting for this vision down in Washington.”
– Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17)
“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
“American workers can compete with anyone in the world when the rules are fair, but too often unfair trade practices like dumping, illegal subsidies, and currency manipulation put domestic jobs and industries at risk. While the USW has fought for relief through trade cases for decades, we need long-term solutions that strengthen domestic manufacturing and put American workers first. This town hall is an opportunity to discuss real plans to protect good-paying jobs, rebuild our industrial base, and strengthen our nation’s economic security.”
– Amber Miller, International Vice President for the United Steelworkers
“U.S. trade policy has failed American workers, farmers, small businesses, and consumers for decades, and the current chaotic tariff policy is only making things worse. We need instead to use access to the U.S. market strategically and in favor of working families.”
– Thea Lee, labor economist and former Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs at the Department of Labor under 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
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 stops on the “Building a Fair Economy for All Tour” include:
- Dayton, Ohio – May 27
- Chicago, Ill. – June 15
- Mt. Horeb, Wis. – June 16
- Erie, Penn. – June 17