The AFL-CIO is not only lobbying against pending trade deals, it’s also suspending campaign contributions to members of Congress.
The union says it wants to “conserve resources for the historic legislative battle around fast track (trade promotion authority) and the debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
Past trade deals “form a mountain of broken promises made to workers,” the AFL-CIO’s executive committee contended in a statement adopted last month. Instead of creating jobs by boosting U.S. exports, “the deals made it easier to export U.S. jobs,” the statement said.
The AFL-CIO’s decision to freeze campaign contributions could make some Democrats more hesitant to support trade legislation. Democrats are the recipients of most of the campaign contributions made by the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions. They run the risk of losing this support if they vote against labor on fast track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.