Title
Urging the United States Congress to reject the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) due to the agreement's negative impact on workers' rights in the United States and across the world; and calling on the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation to unite in opposition to the agreement's ratification.
Body
WHEREAS, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed treaty between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, intended to create a framework for liberalized trade and more robust economic cooperation among the signatory nations. However, the trade deal as negotiated will create great displacement within the American manufacturing sector and result in hardship for families who rely on those jobs to make a decent living. Furthermore, certain provisions within the treaty raise concerns about the potential for legal challenges to important national environmental regulations; and
WHEREAS, A study published in February, 2016 by Tufts University's Global Development and Environment Institute found that an estimated that 448,000 jobs will be lost in the United States as a result of TPP; and
WHEREAS, Even optimistic forecasts, such as that published in February by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, have concluded that many workers, especially those in the manufacturing sector, will be displaced to other jobs or industries in a process that has been called "labor 'churning.'" The economic impact of this 'churn' on working-class families is often overlooked by the treaty's proponents and is likely to create long-term unemployment for a large percentage of displaced workers; and
WHEREAS, Previous international trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have tended to create downward pressure on American wages, and the previously-cited Tufts University study estimates that the 'Labor Share of GDP' will decrease by 1.31% as a result of TPP. While providing a windfall for large multinational...
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