“Working People are Fed Up” at Town Halls on Tariffs and Trade Across the Industrial Midwest
CHICAGO, IL – This week, union members, retirees, and small business owners joined town halls in Midwest cities to share their experiences with how unfair trade and economic policies have harmed working people for decades. As working-class Americans nationwide express growing frustration with Trump’s chaotic economic agenda, crowds gathered at these town halls to discuss the role of trade policy and its impact on their livelihood.
At events in Chicago, IL, and Mt. Horeb, WI, they spoke directly with policymakers and labor and economic leaders, sharing frustrations with their place in a global economy that prioritizes corporate profits over the well-being of communities. They also discussed the need for a bold new blueprint for trade policy — one that is neither Trump’s corruption and chaos nor a return to the failed NAFTA model.
Speakers included former U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, U.S. Congressman Chuy García (IL-4), U.S. Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02), U.S. Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-3), District 5 Director, Wisconsin Farmers Union Kriss Marion, National Campaigns Director, Mainstreet Alliance Shawn Phetteplace, and Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch Director Melinda St. Louis.
These were the two latest stops on the “Building a Fair Economy for All” town hall tour on tariffs and trade, where elected officials, labor unions, and progressive groups are working to build a broad economic agenda to address growing inequality, unpredictable supply chains, and rising costs.
Photos from all events to date are available for publication.
Public Citizen, along with United Steelworkers (USW), IUE-CWA (the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America) Local 84775, farmers’ organizations, and small business groups, hosted similar events earlier this month in Pittsburgh, PA, and Dayton, Ohio, with speakers including Amb. Katherine Tai, former U.S. Trade Representative, State Rep. Desiree Tims (OH-38), Amber Miller, International Vice President for the United Steelworkers, Sam Sanders, President of IUE-CWA (the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America) Local 84775, and Thea Lee, labor economist and former Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs at the Department of Labor.
Select quotes follow. Click the hyperlinks to each event to find more quotes from speakers. Audio and video from select events are 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)
“For a year and a half, Donald Trump’s tariff policies have been chaotic and impossible to follow. His trade deals have not prioritized working people or small business, and any real path forward must address the problems that regular people are facing. I was glad to join Public Citizen at today’s townhall to discuss with Main Street, not Wall Street or their representatives in Washington, the ways we can make our trade system better and stronger for everyday people, not just those at the top.”
-Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02)
“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)
“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)
“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
“Over the years, I’ve been a first-generation organic vegetable farmer, a multi-enterprise farm entrepreneur, and a mentor to many other farmers who wanted to experiment with the sort of businesses I’ve started. From my experience, I can tell you that the absolute worst thing for farmers is more chaos and uncertainty. A shifting policy and economic landscape just adds to the weather and market variables we already navigate. Farmers are by nature and necessity flexible, creative, and adaptable — we’ll adjust to just about any challenge. But when new challenges just keep coming from all directions and changing daily, it’s exhausting and defeating, and that’s why farmers throw in the towel. I really don’t want to live in Wisconsin or the United States with fewer farmers.”
-Kriss Marion, District 5 Director, Wisconsin Farmers Union
“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