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Panel of Experts Exposes TPP at Upper East Side Teach-in, Leads to Formation of TradeJustice Chapters
On May 24, 2013, TradeJustice in cooperation with the Sierra Club NYC Group, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church and others organized a teach-in on the TPP and Fast Track with the intent to inspire grassroots organizing in Congressional districts throughout the city. The event was attended by over 150 people, who later broke into groups by Congressional district to plan organizing against TPP in their own communities. The event helped to launch TradeJustice chapters throughout the city.
Here's a description of the event:
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP) The
Global Race to the Bottom is About to Get Much Worse
TUESDAY, MAY 28TH, 6:30 PM to 9 PM ALL SOULS UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH 1157 Lexington Avenue between 79th and 80th Streets, NYC
Sponsored the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church Peace & Justice Task Force and Sierra Club's New York State and New York City TPP Task Forces
The TPP, a trade agreement the U.S. is negotiating with 11 other nations, will outsource more jobs, prohibit banking regulation, and expand corporate intellectual property rights that curtail Internet freedom and limit access to lifesaving generic drugs. It will also grant foreign corporations the power to sue our government when our laws block their environmentally destructive projects and toxic products.
The TPP is shrouded in secrecy. The Administration intends to complete negotiations by October 2013 with almost no media attention or input from the public and Congress. President Obama has said he’ll ask Congress to grant him Fast Track Authority, which will force Congress to vote on the TPP without changing a single word of it.
That’s where we come in….
RSVP at http://tradejustice.net/528
Doors will open at 6:30 PM for a reception with light refreshments. You can sign in, pick up meeting materials, and check out who your Congress Member is.
7 PM The Raging Grannies will be on hand to sing “Bye Bye TPP.”
Panel begins at 7:05 PM with the following speakers:
Alisa Simmons, National Field Director at Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch
Kenneth Peres, Chief Economist at Communications Workers of America
Ilana Solomon, Trade Rep at Sierra Club
Manuel Perez-Rocha, Associate Fellow at Institute for Policy Studies
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
We’ll split into groups by congressional district for information on how to call, write, and lobby our Congress Members but there’s more than one way to lobby--we can activate our communities via a church group, neighbor get-together, local newspaper. Let’s plan some good ways to take action.
Our goals are to:
1) Express our concerns about TPP with our Senators and Congress Members.
2) Ask your representatives to obtain a copy of the agreed-on TPP texts to share with you.
3) Ask your representatives to publicly pledge to vote against Fast Track.
4) Connect with our communities to help make those things happen.
SPONSORED BY SIERRA CLUB AND THE PEACE & JUSTICE TASK FORCE OF ALL SOULS UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
ADMISSION IS FREE - DONATIONS ARE WELCOME
http://nyc.sierraclub.org/global-race-to-the-bottom/
CO-SPONSORS: Citizens Trade Campaign, Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline, Communications Workers of America, Food and Water Watch, Global Justice for Animals and the Environment, Institute for Policy Studies, New York Climate Action Group, New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, NYC Friends of Clearwater, NYH2O/Damascus Citizens, Occupy the Pipeline, Occupy Wall Street Trade Justice, OWS Environmental Sustainability Working Group, Sane Energy Project, Trade Justice New York Metro, United for Action, WBAI Eco-logic, more to come... |